Number 3: Will Poles sign another veteran pass rusher, or will the players currently on the roster show that they don’t need one?
While Poles has gotten high praise for his moves this offseason, there is still a big question in many people’s minds — the pass rush. As mentioned earlier, the Chicago Bears pass rush was not very good last season. Sure, it improved when Poles acquired Montez Sweat in the middle of the season. He helped improve the pass rush but there was not a good option on the other side of him.
We saw what could happen without a strong player opposite of Sweat. The Green Bay Packers sent a small village of people towards Sweat. That slowed his path to the quarterback. Without anyone to make them pay for that, Sweat was neutralized and the Bears could not get anywhere near quarterback Jordan Love.
Poles did pick up a pass rusher in the draft. After using the four draft picks he had in the draft, he used a future pick to get back into this year’s draft. He picked up a fifth-round pick and selected defensive end Austin Booker.
While Booker has shown promise, he is still a project. He only had one start in his college career that spanned 580 total snaps. He was impressive in those snaps, though, In 2023, he led the Kansas Jayhawks in both tackles for loss and sacks. If he can continue to progress, the Bears could have a steal on their hands.
However, what happens this season? How well does Booker play? Additionally, is
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having DeMarcus Walker, Dominique Robinson, Jacob Martin, and Khalid Kareem enough to take pressure off Sweat? Many feel they aren’t and that the Chicago Bears need to sign another veteran.
There are still plenty of good options still available via free agency. Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Lawson, and Shaq Lawson are solid veterans who can provide help for Sweat. Additionally, there is Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue was with the Chicago Bears last season and had his worst season.
However, he was starting to play better when Sweat came over. He pressured the quarterback more and had two of his four sacks in the five weeks he and Sweat played together. That was all they could play since Ngakoue fractured his ankle and did not play the rest of the season.
If Ngakoue shows that he is healthy and ready to go he could be a good option, despite his struggles last season. Poles could go with one of the other free agents, though. We will see what happens when training camp starts and what Poles’ plan is.
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