No More Excuses, the Bears Need Production From Its Top Earner
There are no more excuses for the Chicago Bears. The fans deserve better, and it’s time to address the plethora of problems head-on, starting with the Bears’ top-paid player, defensive end Montez Sweat.
When the Bears traded for Sweat during the NFL trade deadline, midway through the 2023 season, the move was seen as a clear statement from general manager Ryan Poles that the Bears were serious about upgrading at pass rusher. They even topped off the trade by handing Sweat a four-year, $98 million extension.
Initially, it looked like a steal. Sweat finished the 2023 season with six sacks in nine games and earned Pro Bowl honors. Fast forward to now, and the question has become increasingly unavoidable: are the Bears getting enough from their highest-paid player?
### The Bears Need More from Their Top-Paid Player
Montez Sweat is Chicago’s top-paid player in 2025, carrying the team’s largest cap hit at $25.1 million. To put that into perspective, that figure makes him the 11th highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. With that kind of money comes a demand for production, with the Bears investing in Sweat to be more than just a shadow on the defense.
But the production has not matched the paycheck. In the last 19 games with the Bears, Sweat has recorded just 5.5 sacks. For a player expected to be the centerpiece of Chicago’s defensive line, those numbers fall short of expectations.
Something else that hasn’t been talked about is how much Sweat is actually on the field.
– In Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, Sweat only played in 77% of the snaps.
– Week 2 against the Detroit Lions, it dropped to 66%.
That’s not ideal for a top-paid player meant to lead the defense.
### The Double-Team Argument Doesn’t Hold Up
Some fans and analysts have been quick to defend Sweat by pointing out the amount of attention he gets from opposing offenses. The idea is that Sweat gets double-teamed or chipped often, making it difficult for him to rack up sacks.
While that explanation sounds valid in theory, the numbers tell a different story. According to Pro Football Focus, Sweat ranks just 63rd in the NFL in terms of double teams and chips faced. That’s far from other top-paid pass rushers like Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, or Micah Parsons, who truly command extra attention.
In reality, Sweat is getting plenty of one-on-one opportunities, and he simply hasn’t been winning his battles on a more consistent basis.
### The Bears Need Their Star to Play Like One
Chicago’s defense has plenty of young talent, but it still lacks proven stars outside of Sweat. That’s why his production is even more crucial. When a team commits this level of financial investment into a player, they’re expecting a foundational piece—not just a complementary pass rusher.
Without consistent pressure up front, the Bears are giving opposing quarterbacks way too much time to operate in the pocket. That deficiency has been a recurring issue for Chicago, and Sweat was brought in to fix it.
Sacks aren’t the only measure of pass rush effectiveness, but they matter — and the Bears desperately need more of them. Sweat has shown flashes of being disruptive, but flashes aren’t enough for someone with his contract.
For the Bears to take the next step as a defense and as a team, Sweat must turn those one-on-one matchups into wins — a true tone-setter who helps Chicago close out games.
At a $25 million price tag, mediocrity isn’t an option. For the Bears, their defensive ceiling depends on their highest-paid player delivering the way a true star should.
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/chicago-bears/montez-sweat-no-more-excuses/
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