The Chicago Bears were always expected to part ways with Tremaine Edmunds this offseason. His contract made him a no-brainer salary-cap casualty, as he was a solid player, but there was no way to justify his $17.4 million cap hit for next season.
However, it didn't take long before he found a new home. The New York Giants gave him a three-year, $36 million deal with $23.7 million guaranteed at signing, per Spotrac. Plain and simple, that is way too much money for the 27-year-old, and any Bears fan will likely agree with that sentiment.
Tremaine Edmunds Won't Live up to his Big Payday in New York City
The Bears initially signed Edmunds to a four-year, $72 million deal back in 2023. He arrived in Chicago as a former Pro Bowler and high-volume tackler to anchor the middle of the defense. And while he did that at times, the fact that he now had to settle for six million less per year speaks volumes about how things ultimately went in Chicago.
Pro Football Focus gave Edmunds a 66.4 overall grade last season, ranking 34th among 88 eligible linebackers. However, he's only had a grade above that once in his career (81.9 in 2023). He's only topped a valuation of 60 twice in his eight years in the league, and he's often struggled mightily in coverage.
Just last season, Edmunds gave up a 78.9 percent successful catch rate for a whopping 530 yards and four touchdowns, and that's despite playing just 13 regular-season games. Opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 93.1 when going against him, and he also missed 11 tackles. Simply put, Edmunds was more of a liability when defending the pass than anything else.
While he was solid against the run, logging an 81.3 grade (15th) and getting 42 stops, he's still living off that one great season he had with the Buffalo Bills. That was clearly an outlier, and he's making way too much money now.
Of course, that's not to say that he's unplayable or that he's not going to make an impact. However, the Giants could've had Nakobe Dean for just an additional $30K, and guys like Leo Chenal, Alex Anzanole, and Quincy Williams went for far less in free agency.
John Harbaugh has a vision for his defense, and the Giants' roster has gone through a major turnaround this offseason, as expected. Edmunds will now be expected to quarterback a defense anchored by Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns, and while those two stars will allow him to play with more freedom than he did in Chicago, he may not be able to keep up with players of that caliber.