The Chicago Bears roster feels strong enough to compete for a Super Bowl championship, but at the same time, they might be a piece or two away from being a complete roster. Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated noted that while the Bears have hope for 2026, not finding a pass rusher to complement Montez Sweat will be their undoing.
Chicago Bears' Struggles to Rush the Quarterback Will Haunt ThemÂ
This is why the discussion is so important for the Bears and their fans. This has not been a team that has always been contending. Most years, they spent November discussing the draft order. However, their roster has a legitimate chance to be good this year.Â
They won a playoff game last season and even pushed the Los Angeles Rams, who enter the year as Super Bowl favorites. The thought was that the Bears did this a year before anyone expected it to happen, and now the team can make a legitimate run at the Super Bowl.
So, all of the tiny nitpicks that differentiate them, and the top-tier contenders, are going to be under the bright lights. That is why the pass rush gets brought up so often.Â
To be fair to the Bears, while the team did have cap space and picks to fill the spot, they did have holes in other places. For example, they did not expect their starting center to retire, so they had to trade for Garrett Bradbury and draft Logan Jones. They put a lot of their assets into that. If Drew Dahlman returned this year, they would have had an easier time spending up on the pass rush.Â
However, this will mostly come down to the Bears deciding to upgrade the safety room over the pass rush. Their big-ticket free agent was Coby Bryant, who will make more than Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard combined. Then, in the first round, the team drafted safety Dillon Thieneman to pair with him.Â
They could have easily put one of the investments or even both of them into the defensive front, but decided to stick with what they have. If the secondary is improved and the offensive line has no weaknesses, they might be able to get by with the pass rush that they have. However, if the pass rush is so bad that the secondary upgrades are not showing themselves, Ryan Poles will be under a lot of scrutiny.
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