I am surprised the Bears only got a 5th for him. Feels like Poles got fleeced by his understudy. Dexter was a former 2nd round pick, and was only 24 years old. The Falcons added a player they were going to cut anyway.

They must really feel comfortable with van den Berg.

Also, they are still waiting for Dexter to move after the snap.

Since the Bears traded a 5th for Bradbury, this trade basically becomes Bradbury + Phillips for Dexter.

I'm kinda meh on the whole situation. In one hand, I've never seen the wow in Dexter, but have been optimistic about his potential. Dexter's career here reminds me of Alonzo Spellman. Two big, strong, freaks of nature that couldn't get off the snap.

I was tired of waiting for him to become a difference maker on our DL. He always fell short. If this puts VDB in his place, outstanding move.

My understanding is that Dexter is nursing an injury. However minor, I'm sure it would have affected his trade value.

One thing for sure. No way does he deserve a big pay raise, and that is exactly what it would have taken to avoid him walking next season. I would have liked at least a 4th-rounder, but a fifth will suffice, along with the cap savings.

Fwiw I like this Phillips kid. The brief highlights I’ve watched on him (sorry couldn’t get a link) he seems like a tough little defender. Heck knows the Bears need depth at Corner. And he played at Jaylon Johnson’s alma mater.

24 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Fwiw I like this Phillips kid. The brief highlights I’ve watched on him (sorry couldn’t get a link) he seems like a tough little defender. Heck knows the Bears need depth at Corner. And he played at Jaylon Johnson’s alma mater.

I think this was a great addition to provide us with much-needed depth at DB. Definitely sweetens the deal.

Dexter was a second round pick and did not excel at the position. We changed D scheme and was said to not fit. He was average but did get 6 sacks last year. In a better fit, he may excel. We were not going to resign him so at least we got something out of him.

We are stacked at DT. We added Galimore, Lynch, Street , drafted VDB and a surprise UDFA in Loving. Add Jarrett and that's 6 DTs. We could afford to let him go because those players seem to fit DAs scheme better. (faster and penetratingly )

Phillips has played NB and was the 7th overall rated DB in his draft. His size is what caused him to drop to the 4th round. It adds depth to a position we have some injures. Gordon is still a big question mark, Jaylon Jones got a hamstring in the Titan game.

JJ, Stevenson, Terell Smith, Muhammad ( rookie) , Blackwell ( injured J Jones, and Gordon). Phillips isnt special but is a vet for added depth. With Bryant being hurt Cam Lewis has to play S so we needed something else to play NB.

This was a realistic trade for a 5th and a player. A 4th would seem to be the proper value but we were not going to resign him.

It's a tough pill to swallow when you can only get a 5th round pick for someone drafted in the 2nd round only a few years ago, but it's better to get something for a guy the Bears had no intention of re-signing, and who was losing reps to other guys on the roster.

The decision to draft him in the first place was always perplexing. He played in a read and react system at Florida, but the Bears drafted him as an up-field player in Matt Eberflus' system. Dennis Allen also uses his DT's as up-field guys instead of space eaters, which is not what Dexter is good at. His get off speed was one of his biggest weaknesses in college. Just horrible scouting by Ryan Poles on this one. There's no way around it. You can't whiff on so many 2nd round draft picks. Unfortunately, it seems like Stevenson and Shemar Turner won't be that far behind.

2 hours ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Fwiw I like this Phillips kid. The brief highlights I’ve watched on him (sorry couldn’t get a link) he seems like a tough little defender. Heck knows the Bears need depth at Corner. And he played at Jaylon Johnson’s alma mater.

Don't know anything about him, but I saw some ATL people say he was better at outside than inside in their system, but struggled against the run. At 5'9, I see no world he plays outside in Dennis Allen's system. But if nickel isn't his strong suit either, I'm not sure how much value he has to the team as a backup.

I'm hoping the Bears can get more out of him at Nickel than ATL did, because it would allow Mohamed to play his more natural position on the outside.