Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has made some great moves in the offseason, but the fan base is relentless in its criticism of one mistake he made.
During the offseason, there were calls for Poles to make a trade or sign an elite edge rusher, but he decided not to add a single new player at the position. A big reason for this was that the Bears could not afford to bring in a player of Maxx Crosby's caliber without breaking the bank.
Bleacher Report writer Kristopher Knox might have a good choice for Poles to address this while saving some money. Knox named Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Sam Williams as a player who needs a change of scenery and named the Bears as an ideal landing spot.
"Williams, who had 8.5 sacks in his first two seasons before suffering a torn ACL in 2024, has flashed promise. Landing with a team that has questionable edge depth would give him a better chance to reach his potential than staying buried on Dallas' depth chart."
Sam Williams could help with the depth of Bears' edge rusher
After missing all of 2024 with the ACL injury, Williams racked up 37 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, two pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one sack in 17 games. Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 57.5, ranking him 93rd out of 115 edge rushers in the NFL last year.
Williams doesn't completely fix the edge rusher position for the Bears, but it's an option to have a young player develop in the role. Austin Booker has the full confidence of the organization and still feels like he can help out. Dayo Odeyingbo is the wild card who needs to step up after just one sack in eight games last year.
The Bears must do something to fix the edge rusher position, whether that means spending more on a trade for Crosby or targeting someone like Williams. Williams is on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, which is very team-friendly for the Bears.
Another good thing about Williams is that trading for him would be easy. The Bears would only have to give Dallas a Day 3 draft pick to make the trade happen, so a good price point for the Bears to pay.
Read more: Bears fans get first training camp update that'll officially start 2026 season
Chicago enters the 2026 season as one of the worst pass-rushing teams from last year and did nothing to fix it. Poles might have to consider an option like Williams to help them out.
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