Chicago Bears: Ranking the 5 greatest trades in team history

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 30: Khalil Mack #52 of the Chicago Bears strips the football away from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second quarter at Soldier Field on September 30, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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#1

The Bears have shown with this list that they clearly have a knack for securing transcendent defensive talent via trade in their history. None were more pivotal to the true “Monsters of the Midway” image than the great Dick Butkus. A man who still to this day ranks as the most feared player in NFL history. Fun as that is, he’s also in the conversation for greatest middle linebacker ever.

The league was in the midst of a war against the upstart American Football League. It was felt at the time that the charter franchises in the big cities like New York and Chicago needed to have good teams. So the Bears worked out a trade with the Steelers to get the #3 pick in the 1965 draft. Butkus wreaked havoc on offenses for the next decade, grabbing 22 interceptions and recovering 27 fumbles.

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