Potential Acquisitions At Edge That Would Make Chicago Scary
The Chicago Bears have made vast improvements over the past off-season to the roster but still have a hole at edge rusher across from Montez Sweat.
Outside of Montez Sweat, the Bears have DeMarcus Walker in the second year of his contract, signed Jacob Martin in free agency, and drafted Austin Booker in the fifth round. Austin Booker is a player with upside but remains raw only playing 505 snaps at the college level.
With free agency leaving not many options at edge rusher, it's unlikely the Bears can find a long term answer across from star Montez Sweat but finding someone who can be a short term answer is in the cards.
So who could that be? Let's get into some of the names available.
Emmanuel Ogbah
Emmanuel Ogbah would be a interesting signing giving his versatility to play at the edge or defensive tackle and nose tackle. The only real concern is that his past seasons where Ogbah was at his best came in a 3-4 base where Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus runs a base 4-3 defense.
Carl Lawson
Lawson only played six games last season due to a Achilles tear but even in the six games he played he had no production. Before that he earned 27 sacks over five years with the Bengals and Jets.
Bud Depree
Out of all the available edge rushers Bud Depree is playing at the highest level. He amassed 6.5 sacks last season with Atlanta and still has the goods to be a rotational pass rusher for Chicago. Similar to Ogbah his strongest play was when he was in a 3-4 base.
Calais Campbell
Even with Calais Campbell turning 38 years old early in the season he still is a productive player with tons of experience to share with the younger pass rushers in Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens, and Austin Booker. He earned 6.5 sacks last season (tied-56th), 24 pressures, 56 tackles, and 10 tackles for loss.
Adding Campbell would give Chicago one of the tallest defensives line in the league with Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens, and Montez Sweat all being 6'6 or above.
Rasheem Green
Green only amassed two sacks for the Bears last season. Don't think we'll be seeing Green for another season in the Windy City.
Yannick Ngakoue
While Ngakoue spent his last season with the Bears he underperformed posting a season low in sacks (4) and pressures (11). He is also coming off a ankle injury that sidelined him for the remaining four games of the regular season.
He still is a strong contender to be signed back having experience in Head Coach Matt Eberflus's 4-3 base defense.
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