The Chicago Bears have spent the early part of the 2024 offseason revamping their coaching staff. Starting with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, the Bears are looking for fresh faces to come in and get this franchise back into the postseason.
Now, Matt Eberflus has also added a new defensive coordinator into the fray, hiring former Buffalo Bills assistant head coach and D-line leader Eric Washington as his new defensive coordinator.
Washington is coming from a Buffalo Bills team that is set to watch a lot of pending free agents walk in the 2024 offseason. Josh Allen’s cap hits are going to start rising. Even with a number of restructures and extensions given out, the Bills might have a much quieter offseason than their fan base is hoping for.
Their loss could be the Chicago Bears’ gain.
Who are a handful of Buffalo Bills players that could end up following Eric Washington to Chicago to play for the Bears in 2024?
1. Leonard Floyd, EDGE
How about we start with a little bit of a reunion?
Once upon a time, the Chicago Bears spent a first-round pick on Leonard Floyd, who was supposed to come in from Georgia and give them a dynamic presence off the edge immediately. Unfortunately, expecting immediate results from young players is rarely good practice in the NFL. Floyd struggled in his formative years with the Bears, combining for just 18.5 total sacks in his first four NFL seasons.
He ended up signing with the Los Angeles Rams in the 2020 offseason and setting a career-high with 10.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, and 30 total pressures. Floyd finally started to come into his own in his fifth NFL season, and all he’s done since leaving Chicago is have consistent success off the edge.
Over the last four seasons with the Rams and Bills, he’s got 39.5 combined sacks, 78 QB hits, and 123 total pressures.
Perhaps with Washington on board, the Bears could convince the veteran Floyd to come back to Chicago and finish where he started, giving the Bears a much-needed veteran boost off the edge opposite Montez Sweat.
2. Gabe Davis, WR
Although Gabe Davis doesn’t play defense, I think you could still end up seeing him “follow” Eric Washington to Chicago.
The Bears have an obvious need at the receiver position in 2024 opposite of DJ Moore, who was outstanding for them in 2023. They could look to the NFL Draft, where they have two picks in the top nine, but adding someone like Davis in free agency would allow them to keep their options open.
Davis has done well for himself as a former fourth-round pick and is slated to make a decent amount of money in free agency. The Bears have the luxury of going the cost-effective route at the quarterback position and given they are likely resetting the clock with Caleb Williams this offseason, they can afford to invest in playmakers.
And they should.
Davis has come up big in some clutch moments for the Bills, and that kind of loss would be detrimental for that Buffalo offense. But pairing up Davis with Moore in Chicago, then going and adding someone like Rome Odunze in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Caleb Williams would be able to feast in his rookie season.
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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