With the 2025 season fading further into the rearview mirror, the time has come for the Chicago Bears to put their offseason plans into motion. It’s where wishful thinking turns into action as the league gathers for the NFL’s Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. While the event is centered around April’s draft, it turns out that general manager Ryan Poles has been discussing Tremaine Edmunds over a shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo’s Steakhouse across the street.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bears have granted Edmunds permission to seek a trade as he enters the final year of his contract. With Edmunds carrying a $17.4 million cap hit, his departure has been rumored since he returned from a groin injury in December. But it now appears to be a reality as teams could line up for a Pro Bowl player who will turn 28 in May.
While some may view trading or releasing Edmunds as an addition by subtraction, it still creates a hole the Bears need to fill. Thankfully, the Bears have a clear path to plugging that hole by signing D’Marco Jackson and selecting Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez in April’s draft.
D’Marco Jackson, Jacob Rodriguez Could Help Bears Replace Tremaine Edmunds This Offseason
The news of the Bears granting permission to seek a trade should vault Jackson toward the top of Chicago’s priorities in free agency. Brought to Chicago by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen from his time with the New Orleans Saints, Jackson broke out in an under-the-radar way, logging 43 tackles, two tackles for loss, three pass defenses, a sack, and an interception.
His biggest impact, however, came when he was filling in when Edmunds was rehabbing a groin injury in November. In his first start of the year, Jackson logged 15 total tackles, five solo tackles and a tackle for loss to help Chicago defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 23. A few weeks later, Jackson won NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with seven total tackles, a tackle for loss, an interception and two pass defenses in a Dec. 14 win over the Cleveland Browns.
With six special teams tackles, Jackson has found a way to be a key contributor in a linebacker room lacking depth. But it would be a massive bet to make him a 1-for-1 replacement for Edmunds. Allen could tab former Saints linebacker Demario Davis, Nakobe Dean of the Philadelphia Eagles, or Quay Walker of the Green Bay Packers as a cheaper alternative, but the Bears could also pull a long-term play by drafting Rodriguez.
The Texas Tech defense was nasty last season, allowing 11.7 points per game behind the strength of edge rusher David Bailey and defensive lineman Lee Hunter. But Rodriguez was just as big a part of it, logging 128 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and a sack.
The one part of Rodriguez’s game that should appeal to Allen, however, is his ability to create turnovers. A former quarterback, his athleticism was on full display with four interceptions, two fumble recoveries (including one for a touchdown, and a FBS-high seven forced fumbles.) The game-changing ability helped him become the first pure defensive player to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy since Aidan Hutchinson in 2021 and just the sixth pure defensive player since Ndamukong Suh in 2009. (NOTE: Travis Hunter, who played cornerback at Colorado, won the award as a two-way player in 2024.)
With those two moves, the Bears can craft a strong future when Edmunds moves on. Edmunds logged over 100 total tackles in each of his three seasons in Chicago, but his issues in coverage saw him allow a 79.3% completion rate with nine touchdowns on 208 targets. While he made up for that with nine interceptions, there were too many big plays.
That made Edmunds expendable in the end and could hatch a plan that boosts the Bears’ linebacker room in 2026.