While the biggest concern many have for the Chicago Bears is the quarterback situation, providing help for edge rusher Montez Sweat is crucial for success.
As everyone has been saying about the Chicago Bears, this is likely the most important offseason in a long time. They have the opportunity to retool the roster and start a new era of winning football in Chicago.
The Bears have the #1 pick in the NFL Draft for the second consecutive year. They also have the #9 pick. Additionally, after just releasing safety Eddie Jackson and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair, they have about $70 million in salary cap space. That is the third-highest in the league.
General manager Ryan Poles is set to improve the roster via both free agency and the draft. He did a magnificent job using both last year, turning a team that won three games and losing its last 10 games in 2022 into a seven-win team that wasn’t eliminated from playoff contention until Week 17.
The biggest question that many people have about the Chicago Bears is what Poles will do with his quarterback situation. While the Bears have Justin Fields, many feel that USC quarterback Caleb Williams is a “generational” talent who could transform the team. They feel Poles cannot walk away from him.
The quarterback situation now has the NFL’s eyes on the Bears. Whatever decision Poles makes will have ripple effects throughout the league. The #1 pick will attract a lot of teams desperate for a quarterback. Poles can receive a monumental haul. On the other hand, there are a handful of teams who cannot afford to pay for that pick but still need a quarterback. Trading for Fields would make sense.
Protecting Sweat is a huge priority
While the quarterback situation grabs all the attention, there is another move that might be as important. At the trade deadline in 2023, Poles made an impactful deal. He acquired Washington Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat for a second-round pick.
Poles took a lot of heat for that move. Many people felt that the Chicago Bears needed to keep their picks, not give them away. They were still hurting over the previous season’s trade for Chase Claypool, also for a second-round pick, which blew up in Poles’ face. They did not want a repeat performance.
Poles, however, saw that the defensive end market would be thin. Some great ones might be available at the top, but not much beyond that. He recognized Sweat as a great asset so he re-signed him to a massive extension. The deal was for four years, valued at $98 million.
Sweat came in and transformed not only the defensive line but also the entire defense. The Bears suddenly did a better job of getting to the quarterback. Even when they didn’t sack the quarterback, they put a lot of pressure, which caused a rise in turnovers.
While Sweat was a great pickup and is signed for the next four seasons, he needs some help. There was no help from the other defensive ends. Yannick Ngakoue suffered an ankle injury that cut his season short. DeMarcus Walker was not able to make an impact.
We saw what not having help for Sweat could do to the Chicago Bears’ defense. In the Chicago Bears’ season finale in Week 18, the Green Bay Packers wanted to ensure that Sweat did not have a big game. Sweat had blocker after blocker in his way. Green Bay neutralized him.
With Sweat garnering all the attention, surely the Packers paid for it on the other side, right? Well, that did not work out well for the Bears. There was no help from Walker or the other backup defensive ends. As a result, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love went wild.
Love had all day to stand in the pocket and wait for his receivers to get open. He missed only five of his 32 passes and threw for 316 yards. He also had two touchdown passes. It also hurt against the run. Aaron Jones gashed the league’s number-one-ranked rush defense for 111 yards.
The Packers provided a blueprint on how to handle the Chicago Bears’ pass rush. Neutralize Sweat and, since there is no one else to worry about, there won’t be any pressure to be concerned with. That is why ESPN had a report that the Bears could be in the market for a big-name pass rusher.
The Bears must pick up an impactful defensive end who could provide Sweat help. With another end to be concerned about, teams cannot just send all their blockers toward Sweat. If they do that, they have to pay for it. If the Chicago Bears cannot find that other defensive end we will see some struggles from Sweat. If that happens then Poles’ seat might get hotter.
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