Chicago acquired defensive tackle Brian Price for a future…
Chicago acquired defensive tackle Brian Price for a future seventh-round pick, hoping a former second-round selection could strengthen the interior line. Price made it through the initial trade process but was waived before the 2012 regular season, so the Bears received no meaningful game value. The low acquisition cost limits the damage, but the player return never materialized.
Chicago Bears Received
- player Brian Price
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Received
- pick 2013 7th round pick (226th overall; subsequently traded to New England, Michael Buchanan )
Trade Analysis
The Exchange
On 2012-07-27, Chicago Bears received Brian Price, while Tampa Bay Buccaneers received 2013 7th round pick (226th overall; subsequently traded to New England, Michael Buchanan). The comparison is limited to the consideration each club controlled directly after the transaction. Later movement of an acquired pick or player is useful for tracing provenance, but it is a separate transaction and is not counted as extra compensation in this verdict.
Chicago Bears Return
Chicago acquired defensive tackle Brian Price for a future seventh-round pick, hoping a former second-round selection could strengthen the interior line. Price made it through the initial trade process but was waived before the 2012 regular season, so the Bears received no meaningful game value. The low acquisition cost limits the damage, but the player return never materialized. The useful question is how much durable football value that direct return created for the franchise.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Return
Tampa Bay received one 2013 seventh-round pick for Brian Price. That selection eventually became No. 226 and was moved to New England, where Michael Buchanan was selected; Buchanan was never a direct Buccaneers return. Tampa therefore gained only a movable late-round asset. With Chicago also receiving no regular-season value from Price, the exchange finishes close to neutral. The same standard applies here: realized playing value and retained draft value matter more than later unrelated movement.
Value in Hindsight
Neither side created a meaningful regular-season payoff from the direct exchange. Chicago's bet on Price ended before Week 1, while Tampa Bay held a future seventh-rounder rather than Michael Buchanan himself. The pick's later path to New England does not turn Buchanan into Buccaneers compensation. With a low-cost player gamble on one side and a modest, movable late-round asset on the other, the long-term gap is too small to force a winner.
Final Verdict
Chicago Bears receives a C and Tampa Bay Buccaneers receives a C. The verdict is Even Trade. This conclusion weighs the direct assets, the useful football value each side actually realized, and the scale of the transaction. Where the evidence shows only a small gap, the grades stay close; where one return produced clearly more durable value, the separation is larger.