The Chicago Bears have to be excited about the future of the organization. Despite finishing the 2024 regular season with a 5-12 record, the Bears have plenty to celebrate heading into the offseason. Chicago saw great signs of development from rookie QB Caleb Williams during a rookie season where everything collapsed around him.
Now the Bears have added former Lions OC Ben Johnson as their new head coach. Johnson was the most coveted head coaching candidate over the past three hiring cycles, which alone makes him a big get for Chicago.
The addition of Johnson promises to revolutionize Chicago's offense and make the best use of their existing personnel.
The best part is that Chicago has plenty of room to grow. Chicago enters the offseason with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, a pair of top-50 second-round picks, and roughly $66 million in cap space available to spend. The Bears could get a lot better in a hurry if they make the right moves during Johnson's first offseason with the team.
Chicago could also pursue a number of trades to add talent to the roster. They could also seek out players who are emblematic of what Johnson wants to build in Chicago.
Below we will explore one important trade that the Bears should make to begin the Ben Johnson era in Chicago.
A Tyrann Mathieu trade could be beneficial for both the Bears and Saints

Here are the terms of this hypothetical trade before diving into the rationale.
Bear receive
- S Tyrann Mathieu
- T Trevor Penning
- 2026 7th round pick
Saints receive
- 2026 5th round pick
- 2026 6th round pick
The best part about this potential trade is that it could work out incredibly well for both teams.
First let's touch on the Saints. They are always just an inch away from being in salary cap hell. Saints GM Mickey Loomis is known for entering each offseason with the salary cap significantly in the red. New Orleans always makes enough moves, and restructures enough contracts, to make it work. However, it is a major hassle, and something that could turn off potential head coaching candidates.
As a result, the Saints need to find clever ways to shed cap space. If this trade happens after June 1st, the Saints will gain $7.25 million in cap relief in 2025 from Mathieu alone. They will gain another $2.63 million in space by dealing Penning.
Gaining two future draft picks and $10 million in cap space is a solid return for just a seventh-round pick.
Both Mathieu and Penning are on expiring contracts and neither looks to be a part of the future in New Orleans. This makes them expendable pieces at best and salary cap liabilities at worst. It is in the Saints' best interests to trade them away ASAP.
Depending on how much cap space the Saints want to shed, they could add even more players to this package. Edge players like Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson could be appealing to Bears brass. They would save even more money for the Saints when traded after June 1st. Of course this would also change the terms of the trade from Chicago's side as well.
The Bears gains a natural leader and culture builder with Tyrann Mathieu
This trade would also work out well for the Bears. Chicago will be building a new culture under Ben Johnson. Johnson is reportedly targeting former Saints head coach Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator. If that happens, I'm sure Allen would welcome a familiar face like Mathieu.
But Mathieu's value goes far beyond being a familiar face. He is known throughout the NFL as an incredible leader in the locker room. Patrick Mahomes even called him ‘one of the best leaders I've ever been around.'
The Bears would be wise to bring on a player like Mathieu to help install a new culture on defense. Mathieu is the right man for the job, and he would likely come in with an intimate knowledge of what Allen wants to do schematically.
Beyond that, Mathieu could be an excellent depth piece in Chicago's secondary. He may not steal Jaquan Brisker or Kevin Byard III's jobs, but he could be a valuable rotational piece at safety. In that regard, he would be a huge upgrade over Jonathan Owens.
As for Penning, he is a decent offensive tackle with a first-round pedigree. Chicago desperately needs to improve its offensive line. The only tackles currently on the roster are Darnell Wright, Kiran Amegadjie, and Braxton Jones who is coming off a major injury.
Adding Penning would give the Bears additional depth at tackle. It also gives them the opportunity to kick the tires on Penning and see if there's any untapped potential there.
The Bears could get a lot out of this trade for very limited investment.