As the Chicago Bears head into the offseason, the focus of their moves is set to be on one side of the ball. While the defense led the league in takeaways during the regular season, there's arguably a level of need at every spot across all three levels, depending on who is re-signed or not.
In his comments to wrap up this season and look ahead, general manager Ryan Poles seemed to hint at a level of calculated aggressiveness this offseason.
"We didn't reach the goals we wanted to hit, and that's to be a championship-caliber team", Poles said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. "That'll never change. ... I am proud of the progress we made. Knowing that, we can't be complacent."
At first glance, the Bears are in a tough salary cap situation for 2026. But there are viable paths to creating significant room, so a notable addition on the free agent or trade market could be in play if the fit is right.
Bears' paired with potential perfect solution to key defensive woe
Mason Cameron of Pro Football Focus has proposed a best landing spot for each of the site's 10 highest-graded 2026 defensive free agents.
With offseason needs on that side of the ball, the Bears were or course matched with someone. That someone was edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
"While the Bears found success with Montez Sweat, their edge pass-rush rotation was otherwise limited, as no other edge rusher with at least 100 pass-rush snaps posted a pass-rush win rate above 10%. Ultimately, Chicago finished just 29th in pressure rate (31.1%) during the regular season, highlighting the need for a game-breaking presence off the edge. Reuniting Hendrickson with his former defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, makes sense." Â
"Despite an injury-shortened 2025 campaign, Hendrickson profiles as one of the most impressive pass rushers on the market this offseason. Across the past three seasons, he ranks in the top five at his position in PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets (92.5) and stands as one of just six edge rushers with a pass-rush win rate above 20%."
As Cameron noted, Hendrickson missed 10 games this season after suffering a core muscle injury that eventually landed him on IR and required surgery. His situation with the Bengals has been headed for a parting of ways going back a couple of years, and that time has finally come as he approaches hitting the open market.
Hendrickson was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2017, spending the first four seasons of his career under Bears' defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. In his final season as a Saint in 2020, he foreshadowed his emergence as one of the best pass rushers in the league with 13.5 sacks over 15 games.
The Bears' pass rush was Montez Sweat and little else this season. Injuries to Dayo Odeyingbo and Austin Booker didn't help, but something has to be done to add another capable edge rusher this offseason. At this point in time, no option should be considered out of bounds.
At one point, not that long ago, Hendrickson had a case to become one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL. Now he's 31 years old and coming off a season shortened by a fairly significant injury, so Spotrac has his market value at $25.4 million per year on a projected two-year free agent deal.
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How Hendrickson checks out medically (recovery progress, etc.) will go a long way toward shaping the market for his services. But the Bears should be one of the teams with real interest in him, and if everything aligns, a reunion with Allen could end up happening.