Chicago Bears: What does the future holds at edge rusher?

The Chicago Bears currently have a glaring hole at edge rusher. They return Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson from last season who combined for a total of 4.5 sacks.

In free agency, they added former Tennessee Titan Demarcus Walker. He provides versatility on the D-line, lining up both on the outside and the inside. Right now it’s unknown where Walker will take most of his reps. He accounted for 7 sacks in 2022 and for most of them, he lined up inside.

They also added former Houston Texan Rasheem Green who racked up 3.5 sacks and 8 QB hits in 2022.

When you look at the Bears’ defense, the linebacker and cornerback rooms are above average. The one thing that can make the Bears a playoff team is pressure off the edge.

The Chicago Bears need to find themselves a good edge rusher right now.

Looking at the options, a lot are veteran players, which isn’t a surprise. The best available player at the position is Yannick Ngakoue. He’s 28 years old and has yet to finish a season in his career with less than 8 sacks.

The knock on him is his sub-par run defense but the sack numbers are too good to ignore. Ngakoue would be a much-needed addition to the defense.

Frank Clark is another solid option. Ryan Poles is familiar with him from his time in Kansas City. Clark is about to be 30 years old and put up 5 sacks and 18 QB hits in 2022.

The Bears could also make an attempt to bring back Leonard Floyd, a first-round Draft pick for the team in 2016. In three years with the Rams, he totaled 29.5 sacks. In 2022 he finished with 9 of them. He’s proven that he’s very productive and could help this defense get to the quarterback.

Jadeveon Clowney, Melvin Ingram, Justin Houston, and Carlos Dunlap are other veteran names to take a look at. If the Bears are desperate, it wouldn’t hurt to add one of these guys.

As for 2024 free agency, there are some really good players to consider.

Not to mention, the Bears will likely have a good amount of cap space in 2024. It’s safe to say they’ll be aggressive in trying to add one of these names.

Chase Young, Brian Burns, Josh Allen, and Montez Sweat are some intriguing young players. Trey Hendrickson, Danielle Hunter, and Leonard Williams are some nice veteran options.

The Bears also hold two first-round picks in the 2024 Draft via the trade with the Panthers. It may not look good now, but there are a lot of opportunities to address the edge rushing position down the road.