Chicago Bears: Dontrelle Inman trade should help offense

The Chicago Bears traded with the Chargers for wide receiver Dontrelle Inman for a seventh-round pick. He should be able to help the Bears’ offense.

The Chicago Bears have finally addressed their wide receiver problem, trading a seventh-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for Dontrelle Inman, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. As a result of the trade, the Bears will now have six picks in the 2018 NFL Draft (a first-, second-, two fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-round picks).

While Inman isn’t the big-name addition that some rumors had the Bears targeting (i.e. Martavis Bryant), he’s definitely a welcomed addition to a position that right now is led by Kendall Wright, Tre McBride and Tanner Gentry. In the past two games, this trio has combined for only three catches — two by Wright, one by Gentry, and a goose egg for McBride.

Inman has only appeared in four games this season and has just two receptions for nine yards. A groin injury is partially to blame for his lack of production, but Inman was also buried on the Chargers’ depth chart by players like Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin. Rookie first-round pick Mike Williams has also seen increased snaps the past few weeks after missing the start of the year due to injury.

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In 2016, Inman had a very productive season, starting all 16 games and catching 58 passes for 810 yards. He has good size (6-3, 205 pounds.) and speed (4.47-second 40-yard dash time), but with the exception of last season, has never been able to put it all together. The Bears are hoping that a change of scenery (and a larger opportunity) help Inman realize his potential.

The strange part about this trade is the fact that Inman is a free agent after this season. With the fact that the Bears parted with a valuable draft pick to acquire him, one could assume that Ryan Pace would make a concerted effort resigning him after the year. The team won’t have a large sample size to evaluate him though, as the Bears have only nine games remaining and Inman’s role figures to be small this upcoming week against the New Orleans Saints.

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With that being said, the Bears needed to address the wide receiver position and give Mitchell Trubisky another playmaker. Inman might not be a huge difference maker, but he’s a warm body, and at this stage for the Bears, that’s a huge strength!

This trade also signals that Kevin White likely will not be one of the players designated to come off injured reserve, meaning that the former first-round pick will have only played in five games during his first three seasons in the league.