Last year's Chicago Bears defense struggled in some areas despite leading the NFL with 33 turnovers.
This was a Bears defense that ranked 29th in total defense (361.8 yards allowed per game), 22nd in pass defense (227.2 yards allowed per game), 27th in rush defense (134.5 yards allowed per game), and 23rd in points allowed per game (24.4). While they were one of the best red zone defenses in the NFL, they allowed a lot of yards and sacked the quarterback only 35 times; only six teams had fewer sacks than that.
That led to the Bears releasing their first player of the 2026 offseason, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, out of Chicago. While this is just the first move, it sure won't be the last release the team makes.
Bears are ready to do a makeover on defense
Chicago is already dealing with a ton of its top defensive players entering free agency, most of them from the secondary. Nahshon Wright, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Kevin Byard, and Jaquan Brisker are all free agents from the secondary, with linebacker D'Marco Jackson also a free agent.
With the Bears at $-5 million in salary cap space going into the offseason, some cuts are going to have to be made. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has been at the top of the list as he is expected to help save the Bears about $15 million by letting him go.
The Bears also have the option to give injured defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo an injury settlement and let him walk in free agency. While they may have to pay a bit of a price for it, Odeyingbo only had one sack in the first half of the year before getting hurt, so it doesn't make sense for them to keep him.
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There are other clear options the Bears can take, but it's going to be a combination of restructuring contracts and releasing players to get this unit in the right place. Watch out as Ogbongbemiga won't be the last release from the team.