The Chicago Bears seemingly have their Tremaine Edmunds backup plan at the MIKE LB position set in stone as the 2026 NFL draft approaches: former UTSA Roadrunner and TCU Horned Frog Shad Banks. It may save the team eight figures in the long run, too.
Per PFSN's Jacob Infante, "The Bears met with UTSA LB Shad Banks at the American Bowl. It’s the second meeting Banks has had with the team. Chicago is one of the few teams that have met with him multiple times already."
Infante listed a good number of Banks' positives on X, writing," 4.4 40-yard dash time, he's a former Junior Olympic USA triple jump champion, he has noticeable "blitzing effort and hand usage," he has great closing speed through gaps, he has good ball-tracking skills in coverage, he's a "demon" on special teams -- as opposed to just a few negatives. Among those: he missed most of 2024 to injury, he seems to have a shorter wing-span, and he had an average missed tackle rate against American Conference competition."
Edmunds is a liability in coverage, giving 530 receiving yards and four touchdowns on the year. While he was an active tackler, leading the team with 112 on the season, Banks could do that at a fraction of the cost. The Houston native is a great play-caller, building his reputation with the Bears and Buffalo Bills through his abilities with the green-dot helmet. Banks stepped into that role in San Antonio during UTSA's 2025 season.
The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs said Edmunds "looks like someone who could be caught in a jam" in the offseason, with a hefty $15 million salary tied to him and no obvious need to pony up to keep him.
They have little incentive to. Not when they seemingly found their guy in Lakeland, Florida, at one of several College Football All-Star games available this offseason, and will have a chance to select him on the draft's third day. Things can obviously change this early in the process, but it's no secret that Chicago has an interest in Banks.
Of course, just because the Bears' brain trust met with Banks doesn't mean other teams with similar needs won't do the same thing.
In fact, one team already has.
Steelers Met With Shad Banks in January at Hula Bowl
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers met with Banks and at the Hula Bowl earlier this month. With a new era dawning in the Steel City following Mike Tomlin's departure, Omar Khan is tearing the team down to the studs and reshuffling the deck.
Banks would walk into a team looking to win now in Chicago, while there'd be a lot of question marks in Pittsburgh, of course, assuming he'd make the team. Day three picks in the NFL are never guaranteed their futures.
We'll see what other suitors enter the fray between now and late April.