The Chicago Bears might prefer to roll into the 2026 season with their current defensive ends filling out their rotation off the edge, but their tune may change if they can rope in a five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher for a reasonable price.
The Bears did not add any new edge rushers in last month’s 2026 NFL draft, bypassing the position to focus on other roster needs. They also neglected to make any substantial additions during free agency, limiting their activity to an extension for Daniel Hardy.
Now, the Bears are barreling toward the new season with Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner as their primary four-man rotation, the same unit that finished with the second-worst pass rush win rate (29%) in the league in 2025.
From the perspective of Pro Football Sports Network’s Jacob Infante, though, the Bears’ lack of edge-rusher moves should make them top candidates to sign veteran Joey Bosa, who has 77 career sacks and made the Pro Bowl five times for the Los Angeles Chargers.
“The Chicago Bears being tied down to Dayo Odeyingbo’s bloated contract likely played a role in their being so conservative in their approach towards adding defensive line talent to a unit that struggled rushing the passer in 2025,” Infante wrote May 7. “Their current hope appears to be that youngsters Austin Booker and Shemar Turner step up going into 2026.
“However, Bosa would provide Chicago a necessary insurance policy and a high-floor contributor to their defensive rotation. Plus, with both Odeyingbo and Turner’s ability to kick inside on passing downs as needed, having an option like Bosa could allow the Bears to run some seriously intriguing NASCAR packages on passing downs.”
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