For the past couple of months, the Chicago Bears seem to have focused their efforts on upgrading the edge rusher position. That was confirmed when news broke they’d made a push to trade for Matthew Judon. Unfortunately, the four-time Pro Bowler refused their offer of a contract extension. As a result, he ended up going to the Atlanta Falcons instead. Such is the business of the NFL. Sometimes, you don’t close the deal. It appears Poles remains busy scouring the league for possible help.
However, their search might be expanding further along the defensive line. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, he’s getting the sense the Bears are keeping their eyes open for possible help at defensive tackle.
“None of those is outside the realm of possibility, but I’ll go with another position. I imagine the Bears will be keeping a close eye on defensive tackles hitting the waiver wire or veterans who are cut and immediately become free agents. The Bears always could flip a late-round pick for a player if it’s someone they project as a rotational backup.
Right now, they don’t have a lot of options, at least experienced ones, after Zacch Pickens. While everyone has focused on the idea of the Bears adding an edge rusher, I imagine they’re doing work looking at potential castoffs at tackle who could help them.”
This shouldn’t be a huge surprise. The Bears lost Justin Jones to free agency earlier this year, and now Zacch Pickens is dealing with an injury in training camp. This has considerably strained their already questionable depth behind Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings. Adding another body makes sense.
The Chicago Bears will likely prioritize interior pass rush.
Obviously, they won’t find the next Aaron Donald on the waiver wire, but it would be a big help if they could add someone who can squeeze the pocket as a rotational player. The current free agent market is almost entirely barren. That means Poles must either utilize the Bears’ 9th spot on the waiver wire to scoop up an eventual cut or seek a trade with another team. What nobody can say for sure is who may or may not be available. All one can do is speculate on certain names.
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For example, Bruce Hector has had a standout preseason with the New York Jets, a team considerably deep at defensive tackle. He might be worth a look. The same goes for Mike Morris over in Seattle. They are strong at the position after drafting Byron Jones in the 1st round. One can safely assume the Chicago Bears have a short list of guys they’re keeping an eye on. Things should become clearer after the final preseason game this week.
Poles has a reputation for finding good value on the waiver wire. He secured cornerback Josh Blackwell in 2022. Last year, they nabbed safety Quindell Johnson, who had an interception later that season.
Nice call Veece….great job by Poles to get him for a 6th. Probably wouldn’t have made it to the Bears on wavers. Someone else would have scooped him up.
DID I CALL IT OR WHAT? Darrell Taylor just signed with the Bears yesterday not long after I posted about some players that could be cut or traded before Aug 27th???
The kid has speed and good bend around the edge for added pressure on 3rd and long.
With final roster cuts on August 27th, expect a number of surprises, especially players with expiring rookie contracts, such as these: EDGE Darrell Taylor (SEA) – 21.5 sacks in last 3 seasons. EDGE Payton Turner (NO) – Former 1st rounder, 6-6 270 lbs. But after adding FA Chase Young, and declining 5th year option, he’s expendable. DE/LB Jamin Davis (WASH) – Another former 1st rounder with speed that could excel somewhere else. DL Levi Onwuzurike (DET) – a 3-tech DT who can play DE who’s impressed in training camp but has injury history though healthy now but is in final… Read more »
I surmise the Bears will go through several OL and DL people over the long season and possible playoffs. Keep those “local” boys close by since injuries are going to happen.
49ers rely on Juszczyk as a blocker quite a bit from the games I have seen. He doesn’t carry or catch. I’m not sure what the plan is for Blasingame, but the Rams don’t even use a fullback, and Waldron is a disciple of McVay, not Shanny. I do like Bates. I’m guessing Poles is going to trade away one or two of our fringe guys. We are going to cut guys that would have been studs on our previous teams. Like I said before, we are set up better at DE than last year. However, our SB window is… Read more »