Bears Linked to Bolstering Defense With $54 Million Trade

The Chicago Bears are going to be a very interesting team to monitor heading into the 2026 NFL offseason.

After making an impressive run to the playoffs and winning the NFC North as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the Bears are close to being a championship caliber team. With a strong offseason, they could very well make a run at a Super Bowl next season.

Over the last few years, Ryan Poles has had a very aggressive mindset. He’ll likely enter this offseason with the same goals.

With that being said, Chicago has a few areas it could look to improve this offseason. One of those areas comes at the safety position.

Keeping that in mind, the Bears have been linked to a potential $54 million trade option that would beef up their secondary. That trade would see them pull off a deal with the Arizona Cardinals for veteran safety Budda Baker.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine suggested the idea of trading for Baker in a new column.

“Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker are both slated to become free agents. If the Bears can’t retain both then safety could become a priority,” Ballentine wrote.

“Budda Baker has been in and out of the trade rumor mill over the last few seasons. He could be available if he’s not wanting to go through another coaching change in Arizona.”

Baker is coming off of a 2025 NFL season that saw him play in 16 games for the Cardinals. He racked up 120 tackles to go along with 0.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, an interception, and five defended passes. At 30 years old, Baker still has plenty of good football left to be played.

Chicago would be a great destination for Baker. He would have an opportunity to compete on a Super Bowl caliber team and become a key part and leader for the defense.

Whether or not the Bears will actually show interest in trading for Baker or not remains to be seen. It’s an idea that would make a lot of sense, but only time will tell if it becomes a legitimate option.