3 Bills Eric Washington Could Lure to the Bears This Offseason

3. AJ Epenesa, DL

Because of the fact that Washington coached the defensive line when he was with the Bills, I think you have to look at any number of prospective D-line free agents Buffalo has in terms of players who could follow him to Chicago.

AJ Epenesa is probably the most likely option on this list, although actually all three of these potential pickups make a ton of sense.

Epenesa was once a big-time five-star recruit coming out of high school, committing to the Iowa Hawkeyes out of Edwardsville High School. That’s Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Epenesa is a local product from just four hours south of Soldier Field who would be making a return to his home state with coaching and scheme familiarity. Those are two major factors in free agency anyway, but adding in the fact that Epenesa might be motivated to come back to the Chicago area?

I think you could almost pencil this one in.

Epenesa got off to a slow start in his NFL career. He was once expected to be a first-round pick, but hype surrounding him really cooled off in the pre-draft process. He had two modest years to open his career with the Bills before exploding these past two seasons with 13.0 sacks, 20 QB hits, and 28 pressures despite playing just 375 and 387 total snaps respectively these last two seasons.

This would be an awesome fit for Epenesa and a great pickup for the Bears.

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