Starting the day defensive end Montez Sweat arrived at Halas Hall, when the Bears traded a second-round pick to make him a pillar of their future, he has been uneasy with the spotlight that comes with being the highest-paid player in the building.
So Tuesday likely was one of the most uncomfortable days of his career.
Sweat talked to reporters, at the urging of the team, for five minutes and was drenched from a post-practice workout as he addressed his two-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. He’ll return Monday at the Seahawks.
Sweat declined to reveal details about when he tested positive or how something like that could happen to a professional athlete with a team of people helping manage what he puts in his body, but was open about how miserable the last two weeks have been.
He said it was “devastating” to be separated from the team during the Bears’ wins over the Falcons and Patriots and to stain his reputation.
“It's definitely something I’ve got to live with for my career,” Sweat said. “I never want to cheat the game, and I would never do it intentionally, but what happened happened and I'm moving forward.”
The path forward got cloudier after the suspension, though.
The biggest issue when it comes to Sweat’s future with the Bears is that he has been good, but not great. They traded not only a second-round pick (No. 40 overall in 2024), but also signed him to a four-year, $98 million deal.
In return, they’ve gotten 23 1/2 sacks over the equivalent of three seasons. If that number were doubled, this suspension would be merely a footnote for him and a relatively minor inconvenience for coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles.
The suspension cost Sweat $2.3 million in pay, money that is credited back to the Bears’ salary-cap space, and invalidated any guarantees remaining in his contract. That makes it easier to trade him by the Nov. 10 deadline, though that’s highly unlikely.
What’s really in question for Sweat is whether he’ll be back next season.
Johnson said last season was Sweat’s best as a pro, including what he added as a run stopper as part of that opinion, but pass rushers are judged mainly by sacks. The best in the league don’t need anyone to talk about what they bring in run defense or how they’re creating pressure even if it doesn’t lead to sacks; those effects are assumed.
The Bears can move on from Sweat in the offseason for a negligible $4.1 million dead-cap hit rather than pay him $25.1 million. If they already were questioning whether they’ve been getting their money’s worth on his deal, a two-game suspension in the heart of the season doesn’t help.
“I take everything that comes with it,” Sweat said of how the suspension might affect his future with the team. “The only thing I can do now is just look forward and continue to play.”
