The Chicago Bears are riding high, on a four-game win streak as the run game has gotten on track and an opportunistic defense leads the league in takeaways. The defense had a particularly strong showing against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7, with four sacks and four takeaways.
But overall, the pass rush has been a problem for the Bears. They have 12 sacks on the season, and while Montez Sweat has been better lately, their free agency investment in Dayo Odeyingbo has been a bust so far. The former Colt has just one sack this season, and that was back in Week 1, with six pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) over the last five games.
It's Year 1 of the Ben Johnson era, so it's unlikely the Bears will make a splashy trade before the Nov. 4 deadline. That said. general manager Ryan Poles surely has his eyes on potential moves that would bolster a need area but not sacrifice the future in a big way. Adding an edge rusher could be a priority.
Bears offered an unimpressive option to bolster defensive shortcoming
ESPN's Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler have ranked their top 25 potential trade candidates heading into Week 8. The Bears were named as a fit for a couple of them, both edge rushers, including Arnold Ebiketie of the Atlanta Falcons.
Fowler had some insight about the former second-round pick out of Penn State.
"Ebiketie has had trade interest dating back to the offseason. The 2022 second-round pick is on an expiring contract, and rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker are a big part of Atlanta's future at edge rusher. The Falcons don't necessarily want to trade Ebiketie but typically at least listen to offers when presented."
Bowen took a look at what Ebiketie offers on the field.
"At 6-2 and 250 pounds, Ebiketie fits the profile of a 3-4 edge rusher who can be schemed in sub-package sets. Ebiketie is a linear mover with short-area speed and the hand usage to set up blockers. Defenses could use Ebiketie as a nickel rusher. He doesn't have a sack yet in 2025, but he had exactly six in each of the past two seasons."
The Falcons efforted to fix their lackluster pass rush by drafting Walker and Pearce. Ebiketie was part of that lack of ability to get after opposing passers, despite six sacks in both 2023 and 2024, and he has been a part-time player.
Teams picked up the signal that Ebiketie could be available after what the Falcons did in the draft. Offers to this point apparently haven't been sufficient to compel them to move him, and it's hard to see how that would suddenly change before the trade deadline.
Read more: Jaquan Brisker says it all about difference Ben Johnson has made for the Bears
If Poles is combing the trade market for an edge rusher, one thing is clear. He can do better than an underachieving former top-40 overall pick.