Bears linked to top defensive free agent to give some help at edge rusher
They’re also linked to literally every other free agent pass rusher.
It’s the story that won’t quit: the Bears are looking for more edge rushers. It’s been a complaint in Chicago for more than a few years, and even with Montez Sweat’s departure, the group still lacks depth. Although some of the younger players behind Sweat, such as Austin Booker and Gervon Dexter, may improve this season, adding a guaranteed 8/9 sack player wouldn’t harm a team that aims to be among the best in the NFL.
And like they say, if you don’t succeed at first, wait a year and sign the same defensive end who wasn’t very good the first time around. Albert Breer provided some context for the Bears’ apparent consideration of that in his most recent mailbag.
Are Bears about to sign Yannick Ngakoue again?
“Right now, the Bears have Montez Sweat and “we’ll see” on the edge. DeMarcus Walker is back after coming over from the Titans before the 2023 season and having a so-so first year with Chicago. If there’s an upside guy, it might be fifth-round pick Austin Booker, who has ability, but probably could’ve used another year or two in college … “
“All of it points to adding a vet such as Ngakoue, who signed in Chicago on Aug. 3 of last summer after the Bears determined they needed more help at the position. I’d forecast something similar, maybe right to the timing, coming this year, with the team continuing to monitor the trade market leading right up to the October deadline.”
It’s actually not as silly of an idea as it sounds on the surface – Ngakoue’s one (very bad) year with the Bears was something of an outlier for him, as his four sacks was by far the lowest he’s ever had in a season. He’s averaged since entering the league in 2016, he has averaged about eight sacks every season, and as recently as 2021, he had ten. Giving a presumed healthy Ngakoue another chance on a fair one-year contract is exactly the kind of training camp deal that Bears fans have become accustomed to watching Poles make.
If Ngakoue is the final thing the Bears do, they will force it to happen. For the next ten years, they will simply sign him to one-year contracts for each season while they wait idly for him to have 8.5 sacks. We’ll be discussing in 2029 if Ngakoue’s ankles are finally sound enough to consider him a viable choice. I’ll see you then.
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