The Chicago Bears Aren’t Out Of The Pass Rusher Chase Yet
Danielle Hunter was considered the last big fish on the pass rusher market. Watching him go to the Houston Texans was dispiriting for Chicago Bears fans who’d hoped the team would make a push to pair the star with Montez Sweat. It didn’t happen. The hunt for another edge rusher continues, and most fear one of two things will happen. Either GM Ryan Poles will settle for a lower-tier option in free agency, or he will take one with the #9 overall pick, robbing the Bears of a chance to get their next quarterback a legitimate weapon at wide receiver instead.
However, it’s important to remember the pass rusher market isn’t dead yet. Events elsewhere could give the Bears another opportunity to land a big fish. One team to watch is the Los Angeles Chargers. They are $25 million over the salary cap at the moment. Expectations are that they have some tough decisions to make, starting with their star pass rushers, Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. There is a possibility they will be forced to trade or cut both of them to secure the necessary space to get under the cap.
The Bears would be well-positioned to make a run in such a scenario.
Everything comes down to money with the Chicago Bears.
Poles has proven reluctant to spend big in free agency, feeling it is not the right way to build a sustainable winner. He’s not wrong. The teams that seem to make the playoffs consistently are the ones who avoid big spending and focus on the draft. However, the Bears are in a unique spot. They only have five picks in this draft. They could do some trading to get more, but until that happens, they may not have enough ammunition to plug all of their remaining roster needs. That is why taking a big swing on at least one free agent won’t hurt them.
Bosa is 28 years old. While he’s battled injuries the past two seasons, he remains a lethal presence off the edge when healthy. He has nine sacks in his last 14 games. Pairing him with Montez Sweat wouldn’t be a hard sell. Better still, the Chicago Bears could spend freely on him, knowing he wouldn’t have any effect on the compensatory pick formula if that’s something Poles hopes to get involved in. The same goes for Mack, who had the best season of his career (17 sacks) in 2023 despite being 33 years old.
The truth is the Bears have kept themselves in a great position to be aggressive by not overextending on any of their moves. They still have the fourth-most cap space in the league with their biggest priority, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, already locked up. Poles is free to await further opportunities.