Several veteran edge rushers remain unsigned at this point in the offseason. Many will land deals in the lead-up to training camp, but Ryan Poles and the Bears may not be among the top suitors on that front. 
In a mailbag answer related to Za’Darius Smith, Scott Bair of the Marquee Sports Network writes the Bears will likely only be interested in the three-time Pro Bowler on a one-year pact. Smith and many other remaining free agents will of course take deals of that length in the near future, but finances will be a key factor in determining their 2025 landing spots.
Bair predicts Smith will again look for a deal carrying an eight-figure annual average value. That has been the case for every contract in his career since his rookie pact. If the 32-year-old’s asking price for 2025 checks in at or above $10MM per season, Bair notes it is unlikely the Bears will meet it for Smith or any other veteran pass rusher in a similar situation. Any moves made along the edge between now and Week 1 will thus come at a lower price.
Last offseason, Yannick Ngakoue was floated as a name to watch regarding another Bears agreement. He operated as a full-time starter for Chicago when healthy in 2023 and was in communication with the team last summer. In the end, Ngakoue split his time between the Ravens and Patriots last season and failed to make a notable impact.
To little surprise, then, the 30-year-old is among the pass rushers still unsigned in July. The same is true of Smith – whose stated preference is to re-sign with the Lions – along with the likes of Matt Judon, Jadeveon Clowney and Von Miller. With nearly $15MM in cap space, Chicago could afford a modest investment in one of those options ahead of the regular season.
For now, though, the team is set to move forward with an EDGE depth chart once again topped by Montez Sweat. The Bears added Dayo Odeyingbo on a three-year deal in free agency, and the former Colt will be counted on to provide his new team with starting-caliber production. 2024 fifth-rounder Austin Booker is a candidate to see an uptick in usage during his second NFL season. Room exists for an addition to that group, but at least for the time being a sizable deal for any of the top options on the market should not be considered likely.
If you would all listen to me the Bears aren’t going to bring in another edge. They already brought one in- Oyeyingbo. They are paying him 8 million-20 million and 20 million mostly guaranteed for the next 3 years. They have a rookie who they drafted in the 2nd round who they say can play outside and Booker and Hardy who are well thought of. They have 45 million targeted for the next 3 years in Sweat and Oyeyingbo. They don’t have enough money to bring in Watt, Hendrickson or anybody like them. Stop the nonsense. They might draft another Edge next year, But that would be it. I hope everyone gets it now. Poles committed to Oyeyingbo and Sweat. End of story for this year. Get over it.
Sorry Mike. Poles has approached the DE position the same way he dealt with Center last year- Half a$$ed. Oyeyingbo is not a proven pass rusher. And none of their young talent from last year has done a thing to show they’re anything special. They regret it.
You seem to forget we had an idiot for a Defensive Coordinator and Head Coach no matter who had the titles. You don’t know what they’ll look like with a real DC who attacks at the Line of Scrimmage, So you have ZERO idea what they’ll be. I’ll just wait until they start playing games before I would make a statement like that.
I still think they’ll end up signing someone during camp. Oyeyingbo has looked awful so far albeit without pads. I may end up being wrong but that signing was not great from the beginning.
Did Poles draft bad players or hire horrible coaches? I ‘m pretty sure the latter because I never liked Eberlose but that wasn’t Poles hire anyway. McCaskey did that. We won’t see much in the pre season because most teams play Vanilla defense anyway, But we’ll get an idea of what they look like 1 on 1. That’s what I look for. Especially at the end of the game.
It wasn’t til mid season last year that they tanked defensively. And that was when Billings went down. Eberflop wasn’t a bad DC. He was a lousy HC.
He was both.
Eberflus was an above average DC, but not a great one. Totally outclassed as an HC and clueless on offense. He was a head scratcher when they hired him, and even worse when Poles stood by him as Harbaugh and Payton become available. They really lost their D when Roquan Smith left. While most teams could use DL depth pieces, $10M is a bit pricey at this stage of the season. They could use some LB/RB depth too.
*Eberflose
Unclemike is so passionate about the Bears that I have to trust his assessments. As long as Poles doesn’t re-sign Marcedes Lewis with the intent to make him a pass rusher it’s all good.