Montez Sweat has had a lot go right since the Washington Commanders traded him to the Chicago Bears on Halloween one year ago.

The defensive end signed a four-year, $98 million contract extension with the Bears four days after the trade. He recorded six sacks in nine games in Chicago to finish the 2023 season with a career-high 12½ sacks. He was named to his first Pro Bowl. And he has helped the Bears defense develop into a top-10 unit.

But as Sweat returns to face the Commanders for the first time since the trade on Sunday in Landover, Md., he narrowed in on something simpler that has given him joy.

“I’m happy just being somewhere that I’m wanted, being at a place where they want me to be and I’ve got a spot,” Sweat said. “It’s just a good environment. You’re around guys you want to play for. You’re around coaches you want to play for. That makes you want to go hard. That adds a big part to your game.”

Sweat will admit now he was offended when the Commanders decided last October to trade him — and fellow former first-round pick and defensive end Chase Young, who went to the San Francisco 49ers — to build up their draft-pick base. The Bears sent the Commanders the No. 40 pick in the second round, which Washington traded to acquire more picks.

“It’s a business and I understand what comes with that,” Sweat said. “I was offended, but I didn’t take it personal.”

Sweat credits his teammates for helping to make him comfortable in Chicago over the last year.

In the first week after Sweat joined the Bears, he went to dinner with the other defensive linemen at veteran DeMarcus Walker’s house. It was part of what Sweat has described as a warm welcome to the team, an “open arms” attitude that he said helped him settle in quickly.

Sweat decided to host the dinners this year to watch the Thursday night NFL games.

“Every Thursday, we meet at the house, we watch the game, we watch film, we eat, we play games. It’s just a great time for the D-line,” Sweat said. “We go over, just bouncing ideas off each other, how we are going to attack our man this game and stuff like that.

“But mostly it’s just team chemistry. You play harder when you want to play for the man next to you.”

Defensive coordinator Eric Washington, in his first season with the Bears, said that beyond Sweat’s well-rounded on-field talent, he sees “tremendous leadership attributes.” He noted how in training camp Sweat passed along how he sets up his rushes against different protection concepts to help others.

And defensive line coach Travis Smith said he felt a team-first mentality from the moment Sweat joined the Bears, even if Sweat was offended to have been traded.

“Since the day he has walked in here, there has not been a day where I have felt anything other than positive and wanting to help the team win,” Smith said. “I couldn’t tell you whether he was displeased or happy. I just know he loves playing football. And he wants to win and he wants to compete, and there’s not one thing that has been about himself. It’s been about the team.”

Sweat has 2½ sacks through six games this year, all of them coming in the last four games. He’s on pace to fall well short of his total from last year, when he became the first NFL player to lead two teams in sacks in the same season.

But Smith said Sweat’s impact on the Bears defense extends beyond his sack numbers.

“It’s obviously made a big impact — the disposition, mentality, the demeanor our guys play with,” Smith said. “He has 2½ sacks right now, but what I look at, too, if you look at our group as a whole, almost every single D-lineman that has played in a game besides (Daniel) Hardy has a sack right now.

“Is it just (Sweat)? No. But is he commanding slides? Is he commanding double teams? Is he opening up other one-on-ones for other guys? Yes, he is.”

Sweat said his return to Washington — as the Bears wait to hear whether they will be facing rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels or veteran Marcus Mariota — is “maybe a little motivation” to do more damage Sunday.

But he also is focusing on what he has going with the Bears. At 4-2, they are the first team Sweat has played on with a winning record through six games since Washington drafted him at No. 26 in 2019. The 2024 Commanders, of course, are also off to a winning start.

The winning makes everything a bit happier, Sweat said — though wide receiver Keenan Allen said Sweat was joking on the sideline in London that he was itching to get on the field more as the Bears offense dominated.

“It’s a different type of feeling because I’m used to just three-and-outs and get back out there,” Sweat said. “Sometimes (that) gets frustrating but you embrace those things. To be on the other side of things, you’re just hungry and waiting for your opportunity to get back out there and make some plays.”

His defensive coordinator is excited to see what Sweat will do when he gets the opportunity.

“He’s a person that’s big-play capable every time that he lines up,” Washington said. “He’s a person that you can win because of and not just with. We’re glad to have him on the team. I’m glad that he’s here and I’m looking forward to what he’s going to do this week.”

Injury report: Safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring) remained out of practice Thursday. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf) was limited. For the Commanders, Daniels (rib) did not practice for a second straight day.