It's not a secret that the Chicago Bears defense struggled big-time in the 2025 NFL Season outside of the turnovers. In both run and pass defense, Chicago left a ton of meat on the bone, and the unit finished the year ranking just 23rd in points allowed per game.
We did see a rather aggressive effort from General Manager Ryan Poles to improve this unit, but it mostly came in the secondary. When you look at the roster as a whole, it still feels like, yet again, the defensive line is the weakest point on the roster, and that is absolutely one area where a team cannot be weak if they hope to win the Super Bowl.
While coaches may hope for existing player improvements, there is nothing wrong with going out on the free agency market and making a late-offseason signing, and Chicago was just named a potential fit for a good player along the front seven.
Chicago Bears again urged to sign Jadeveon Clowney to bolster pass run ahead of 2026
The Bears were listed as one of five landing spots for Jadeveon Clowney ahead of 2026 by Zachary Pereles of CBS Sports:
"Bears: The Bears had one of the NFL's worst pass rushes last year, and while Ben Johnson has pledged internal improvements, Montez Sweat has disappointed in Chicago, Austin Booker is unproven, and Dayo Odeyingbo is coming off a torn Achilles. Clowney would play a big role for this up-and-coming team."
The reasoning is simple, and it's able to be simple. The Bears need pass-rushing help, and Clowney can present that help. He's a three-time Pro Bowler and has been on seven different teams over the last eight seasons, including four different teams over the last four seasons.
But in just 13 games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, Clowney racked up four passes defended, 8.5 sacks, 41 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 10 quarterback hits. Had Clowney kept this pace up for 17 games, not 13, this is what he would have finished with:
11 sacks
54 total tackles
16 tackles for loss
13 quarterback hits
This is Clowney's most recent 17-game production, and I struggle to see why the Bears should not make this move. With the Bears clearly wanting to compete for the Super Bowl this year, wouldn't an aggressive move like this make sense?
Part of this might be the front office not wanting to admit defeat at a certain position, trusting that 'their guys' are going to work out, but assembling an NFL roster is incredibly difficult, and while Chicago's group is quite good, it's not good enough.
Even if they were to sign Clowney and he doesn't finish with the above stat line, there is still a chance that he puts up competent numbers, as he's done so across many teams and for quite some time now.
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He knows how to rush the passer and would, if nothing else, raise the floor of the defensive line. With the NFL being this late in the offseason, there aren't elite players left to sign, obviously. Bringing Clowney in before another team does is a must if the Bears hope to take that next step this year.
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