Bears trade WR Anthony Miller to Texans

The Bears and Texans will also be exchanging late-round draft picks in the deal.

The Bears have traded fourth-year wide receiver Anthony Miller to the Texans, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on Saturday. Ian Rapoport added that the trade involves a swap of late-round draft picks, but the exact terms of the trade have yet to be announced as of this writing.

Miller, who turns 27 in October, has struggled with consistency issues since the Bears traded up into the second round to draft him in the 2018 NFL Draft. He has served as the team’s primary starting slot receiver over the last three years, catching 134 passes for 1,564 yards and 11 in that span.

He showed promise in spurs throughout his first two seasons, scoring 7 touchdowns as a rookie and tallying 656 yards in 2019. He caught 35 passes in the last seven games of the 2019 season and topped 100 yards twice near the back end of the year.

For his physical gifts and route-running abilities, though, Miller struggled with inconsistency throughout his time with the Bears. He fell short of 30 receiving yards in 12 of the 17 games he played in 2020, including the team’s Wild Card matchup against the Saints, during which he was ejected for punching defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. His own lack of development and the emergence of Darnell Mooney saw Miller’s role greatly diminish.

Chicago now figures to have an open spot in their starting lineup at the wide receiver position. Veterans Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd could battle for time out of the slot, while sixth-round pick Dazz Newsome could step into a sizable role early if he impresses in training camp and the preseason.

As mentioned by PFF’s Brad Spielberger, the Bears free up $1.2 million in cap space for trading Miller, who was slated to hit free agency after the expiration of his rookie deal next year.