Could Montez Sweat stonewall Bears and join the Atlanta Falcons in free agency?

The Atlanta Falcons came oh-so-close to landing an elite pass rusher in free agency. Reports were that they had a deal to acquire Montez Sweat from the Commanders but then the Chicago Bears inexplicably swooped in and made a better offer.

The Falcons had no chance once the Bears made the move. They would have had to give up a first-round pick and that was not going to happen. However, they could still find Montez Sweat on their team if Sweat is willing to finagle his way onto the team that he wants to join.

Montez Sweat could stonewall Chicago and sign with the Atlanta Falcons

This is all speculation but it is valid to wonder whether or not Montez Sweat could refuse to sign a long-term deal with the Chicago Bears in an effort to join the team he wanted to join in the first place—the Atlanta Falcons.

The Bears gave up a second-round pick for Sweat so they are going to do everything they can do to get an extension done ASAP. However, initial reports are that they are unsure if they will be able to get something worked out.

Sweat doesn't really even need to scheme with Atlanta to get this done. He knows that the Falcons were ready to trade for him and agree to an extension. All Sweat has to do is not sign the dotted line with the Bears, wait until free agency in March, and then get a deal worked out with the Falcons.

It really is pretty simple and one can only hope that this is what Sweat's intention is. He is from Atlanta so moving back home to be close to his family might take priority in all of this.

The only worry is whether the Bears will become desperate and offer him a contract that he cannot refuse. They just gave up a high draft pick for him and won't want to lose him after the conclusion of what is shaping up to be another disappointing season for them. It would be another bad look for Ryan Poles who made a deal last year to acquire Chase Claypool who did absolutely nothing for them.

No matter how you look at this, Sweat should have landed in Atlanta. No one can figure out why the 2-6 Chicago Bears traded away a second-round pick for a player who is in the last year of his contract. The only party who won in this trade was the Washington Commanders.