Right or wrong, after not drafting an edge rusher like the masses wanted and thought they should, the Chicago Bears have revealed a plan. Essentially, it's to coach up who is already around (especially Austin Booker and Shemar Turner) and hope for better health for those who will operate opposite Montez Sweat makes a huge difference.
At the same time, rooted in general manager Ryan Poles confirming he called the Las Vegas Raiders about Maxx Crosby, it's not as if adding an edge rusher of note has been off the radar all offseason. As is common with those kinds of things, the fit wasn't right and/or the cost was too high.
If the Bears are going to deviate notably from their current plan at edge rusher, as ESPN's Courtney Cronin recently suggested during an appearance on ESPN 1000, it likely won't be until at least OTAs later this month have played out. Moving toward, or even into, training camp is possible if things aren't going well and someone who fits is still available.
Bears matched with free agent they should easily continue to ignore
USA Today's Tyler Dragon matched some available free agents with teams in the wake of the draft. Of course, he matched the Bears with an edge rusher, but not the one you're thinking of: Haason Reddick.
"Reddick’s production has taken a precipitous decline since four straight double-digit sack seasons from 2020 to 2023. He’ll turn 32 in September but his 34 pressures last year would’ve ranked fourth on the Bears in 2025. Chicago needs another edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat and didn’t address their pass rush need in the draft. Chicago had the NFC’s worst pass rush win rate in 2025, per ESPN and can use a vet like Reddick to provide a boost."
Precipitous isn't a harsh enough word to describe Reddick's decline in production over the last two seasons.
After being traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to the New York Jets in March of 2024 and failing to get the contract he wanted from his new team, too, Reddick asked to be traded for a second time in about a five-month span. He ultimately did not suit up for the Jets until October that season, and he registered just one sack in 10 games.
Reddick missed four games, and he gets some leeway since he played through injuries last season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers surely expected to get more than 2.5 sacks from him. Now moving toward his age-32 season, the production cliff came quickly, and his peak years seem to be behind him.
Reddick has a solid history as a short-term mercenary, with the aforementioned four straight 11-plus-sack seasons coming while suiting up for three teams. But 2023 is a long time ago in NFL years, and that he is still available into May says it all about what the league thinks of him as a potential buy-low to bolster a pass rush.
It's safe to assume the Bears have done some level of due diligence on Reddick as a potential edge rusher signing. At this point, bringing him in would only take reps away from Booker and Turner and interfere with the stated plan to cultivate those two young guys.
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Add what might be a bad culture fit, and the chances Reddick becomes a Bear pretty much land at nil.
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