Bears need Chad Johnson

The Bears plan to save the offense next season seems to be to turn loose Devin Hester. Lovie Smith has repeatedly compared him to Steve Smith, and thinks another offseason and training camp learning how to play the position could make Hester the game-breaking playmaker the Bears offense so desperately lacks.

While it’s nice to see the coaching staff realize something so painfully obvious, this plan, in itself, will not work. The Bears offense needs to be completely overhauled, or at least as much as is possible in one offseason. It’s not just the quarterback position that needs improvement, it’s also everything else.

We’ll get to the most pivotal area the Bears should improve, the running game, at another point, but lets focus on the receivers for a second.

Bernard Berrian is clearly the best available free agent receiver, and Mushin Muhammad could and should be cut. If the Bears aren’t able to bring back Berrian, their number one receiver is….Mark Bradley? Sheed Davis? Hester? If Berrian does come back, they obviously still need at least one or two more new, good pass catches. Drafting one is a possibility, but rookie wideouts can never be counted to contribute right away.

So what should the Bears do? Trade for disgruntled Bengal Chad Johnson, who is talking like he’s ready to leave town. Via AOL Fanhouse:

"I was labeled selfish and a cancer, and it hurt," he said. "Fingers were pointed at me this year. If the team and the organization wants to further itself (make the playoffs), I think you need to get rid of the problem.

"It hurt me. To do me that way and not to have my back. Things were said, and nobody came to my defense."

Do the Bears quarterbacks always suck because they have bad receivers, or do the receivers suck because they have bad quarterbacks? Bring Johnson in and that question will be answered. I can care less about all the celebrating, Chad Johnson is a beast. He turned 30 years old last week (which is relatively young), but is going as strong as ever, putting up 93 catches, 1,440 yards and 8 touchdowns this season.

What would it take to get him? In the NFL, players are almost always traded for draft picks, so let’s throw out any player swap scenarios. Last year the Patriots got Wes Welker for a second round pick and Randy Moss for a fourth round pick. If Johnson wants to leave, it could hurt his value like it did for Moss. One problem is that the Bears could have a lot of competition for Johnson, as there have been rumors of him landing in Miami and Eagles fans have already set up a website dedicated to bringing him in.

Here’s what I’m thinking: Chad Johnson for a second and third round draft pick. Depending on your vantage point, this offer probably seems either ridiculously low or kind of a lot, but I think it’s fair. More then anything, the Bears should do whatever it takes to get him, as long as it doesn’t mean giving up their first and second round picks.