The Chicago Bears have made significant improvements to the roster this offseason, but one spot that could use a bit more attention is that of edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat.
Chicago has salary cap space to spare, nearly $23 million as of Monday, May 6, and pathways to create more should the franchise choose to pursue them. A second defensive end figures to be a priority for a defense that got stronger as last season drew to a close, though the level of investment will correlate with the caliber of player available.
Second-wave free agency is now the only path remaining, absent a trade, which means the options are limited. As such, the Bears aren’t likely to find a long-term solution alongside Sweat this offseason, though the pursuit of a short-term fix serving as a bridge to some more sustainable option will provide the team with a handful of possible solutions.
Among those is a reunion with pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who played in Chicago last season on a contract worth approximately $10.5 million.
“The Bears brought in Ngakoue on a one-year deal to bolster their pass rush last summer, but his season ended early due to an ankle injury,” Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports wrote over the weekend. “If the medicals check out, it would make sense for the team to run it back since the two sides are familiar with each other. It would also take some of the pressure off [Austin] Booker as he works to hone his raw talent in his rookie season.”
Booker was one of Chicago’s five draft picks in 2024 — a 6-foot, 5-inch and 240-pound edge out of Kansas the team selected in the fifth round.
Yannick Ngakoue Back to Bears Has Been Popular Notion Among NFL Writers Over Past Week
GettyDefensive end Yannick Ngakoue of the Chicago Bears.
Shapiro isn’t the only analyst who has floated a reunion between Ngakoue and the Bears since the NFL draft ended late last month.
“The veteran edge-rusher produced [7] quarterback hits, [6] tackles for loss and [4] sacks last season,” Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report wrote on Monday. “Chicago could use any extra production it receives from the position opposite Montez Sweat in order to get its offense on the field as much as possible in 2024. Sweat will be the team’s primary pass rusher, but if someone of Ngakoue’s experience is on the other side, it will force opposing offenses to be honest with their blocking schemes.”
Bill Zimmerman of SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron also authored a similar pitch on May 3.
“I think the Bears sign an additional veteran here, and I think Ngakoue makes too much sense,” Zimmerman wrote. “He didn’t have a great 2023 season in Chicago, but he knows the Matt Eberflus‘ system, and it’s not like there are veterans available who were wildly productive in 2023. The bottom of this group is weak.”
Ngakoue played in and started 13 games for the Bears in 2023, missing four due to injury.
Austin Booker Could Prove Late-Round Steal for Bears With Time
GettyDefensive end Austin Booker of the Chicago Bears.
Ngakoue is 29 years old and entering his ninth NFL season. While he is a one-time Pro Bowler who had amassed at least 8 sacks in every campaign of his career heading into last season, he is coming off of a career-worst performance in 2023.
In other words, he isn’t the long-term answer. Booker, however, could be.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic on April 29 named Booker among his Day-3 selections who could end up proving steals with time.
“The Bears used a 2025 fourth-round pick to trade back into this draft (at No. 144) and scoop up Booker, who easily could have been drafted on Day 2,” Brugler wrote. “Although he isn’t ready for a meaningful role as a rookie, Booker has the promising pass-rush savvy to be a steal when we look back at this selection in two or three years.”
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