Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is out for the season with a torn Achilles suffered in a Week 9 victory over the Bengals, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Odeyingbo, originally a Colts second-round pick in 2021, arrived in Chicago this offseason on a three-year, $48MM deal. He started the Bears’ first eight games this year with a 75% snap share, but only logged one sack and two tackles for loss before his injury on Sunday.
Shemar Turner and Dominique Robinson are already dealing with injuries, so the Bears’ defensive line depth will be tested further by Odeyingbo’s absence. The return of Austin Booker from his knee injury will help, and 2022 seventh-rounder Daniel Hardy will likely be asked to play more snaps as well.
The Bears may regret their decision to release Tanoh Kpassagnon from their practice squad last month. He has since signed with the Colts’ practice squad, but Chicago could still sign him to its 53-man roster. The Bears also have Jonathan Garvin and Jamree Kromah on their own practice squad for game day elevations and/or a promotion to the active roster.
Odeyingbo’s debut season in Chicago will now be considered a disappointment due to his lack of production and, now, availability. Beyond his low counting stats, Odeyingbo has only logged a 4.8% pressure rate and a 8.9% pass rush win rate, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Last year, those numbers were 9.6% and 12.6%, respectively.
The 26-year-old edge rusher will likely aim to return by the beginning of the 2026 season when he can retake a starting job opposite Montez Sweat. The Bears may still bring in some depth off the edge to bolster a pass rush that has not consistently gotten to opposing quarterbacks this season. Their defense overall has been a bottom-10 unit, but their results on the other side of the ball appear to be proof-of-concept for the Ben Johnson–Caleb Williams partnership. A return from Odeyingbo and additional investments in the defense could help them take a bigger leap in 2026.
well at least he did something
Another writer who knows nothing about the Bears. Booker will slide into that spot with Robinson if he’s healthy backing him up. If we get to Hardy things are getting dicey. Already seen Kpassagnon. Not impressed. Hopefully some better help arrives by tomorrow.
Nice they added Booker in after the article was posted. Well done. The Bears can use somebody. Bears have some trade pieces. Jones, Kmet, Bates Hopefully no high draft picks. Time for Poles to win one of these deals for a change or at least make it even. Every team in the League is looking for CB’s so I don’t see much help coming there. Hopefully the help comes from getting their own guys healthy again. They can trade that ST ace Homer too because he obviously stinks and is a horrible RB. Thank god the Bears don’t see another duo as good as Chase and Higgins for awhile. I mean Jefferson and Addison is probably the scariest in the near future. Hopefully Allen comes up with a better plan.
I don’t know about that one Uncle in regards to a receiver duo other than Jefferson and Addison. Detroit has St. Brown and Williams along with LaPorta. GB depending on what offense shows up can be a handful even with Kraft out. That Bears D has some serious flaws. I was hopeful Coordinator Allen would be a step in the right direction. Doesn’t appear to be the case so far. Some of the potential trade candidates you mentioned like Jones (currently on IR and was benched), Kmet (concussion protocol and high salary) , Bates and Homer? A minor salary dump if anything for a 7th rounder if there’s a GM out there willing to do so. These players you mentioned- The juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.
True but what else are going to get coming in? What you’re going to get is high priced early round busts who are overpaid that other teams want to get rid of. You’re hoping to catch lightning in a bottle that you can turn into gold. This isn’t the baseball deadline. And the Bears don’t have enough cap space to get a true difference maker anyway. Unless they move a guy like DJ Moore and I don’t see how that really helps. Maybe in the off season but not now.
When an injured Joe Flacco can carve up your defense for 470 yards and 4 TDs you need to start searching for another DC.
Maybe. But the better idea would be to cover somebody. The plan last Sunday definitely needs work. Is Amegedjie deceased or what? The guy is milking a strained quad in college into 2 years of free pay. Maybe he can be traded to somebody desperate. Time to get creative. Roschon Johnson? Are any of these guys worth anything? They don’t seem to be in Ben Johnson’s plans anyway. Put Brown on the roster, Sign back Wheeler. Time to see LT Ozzie Trapillo. I don’t think he can be any worse than Benedet. That seems impossible.
I never understood the whole Dennis Allen hooplah. He’s not a good defensive coordinator. Yes, i know he lacks the playmakers on the DL to get his scheme across, but has anyone gotten better this year? He looks lost half the time when his defenses are out there.