Just shortly after the Chicago Bears tried finding a trade partner for linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, the team opted to release him. A lot of fans knew this was coming, but the question was, who would be Edmunds' successor?
And, would he be able to do some things Edmunds couldn't?
The Bears answered that question when agreeing to a 3-year contract with linebacker Devin Bush, early on in the league's legal tampering period. Bush comes to the Bears after spending a year with the Cleveland Browns and putting up a career year.
As a top-50 available free agent, Bush is getting $30 million over those three years and, just like that, the Bears not only replaced Edmunds, but gave the defense a few things he could not.
Devin Bush checks the boxes Tremaine Edmunds couldn't for the Chicago Bears
While Edmunds was a good player, he wasn't nearly what the Bears needed him to be when they originally signed him to that 4-year, $72 million contract. Now, in Bush, the Bears get a linebacker who checks a few different boxes.
First of all, Bush is far better in coverage than Edmunds. In a league that always asks the question, "What have you done for me lately?" the Bears looked at Bush's season, in 2025, and loved what they saw.
Per Pro Football Focus, Bush was the fourth-highest graded linebacker in coverage for the 2025 season. He allowed an opposing quarterback rating of just 64.2, according to Pro Football Reference, and that was on a total of 403 coverage snaps.
Edmunds, meanwhile, performed far worse in coverage and ended up in the lower half of the league in that regard. His four interceptions looked good on paper, but Edmunds was very often behind on plays. Whether it was in coverage or trailing a running back, Edmunds found himself a little too late on a regular basis.
That leads into the next point, which is the fact that Bush is simply a faster player. The Bears needed to get faster on defense, and Bush certainly gives them that. We're a long ways from his NFL Combine performance back in 2019, but Bush did run a 4.43. Let's not forget it.
His speed is something that also allowed him to run away with a pair of defensive touchdowns last year, and those scores had to catch the Bears' attention. Not only do they want to continue with their trend of taking the football away, but scoring off of those takeaways is a huge plus.
Finally, Bush is less expensive. Simply put, an average of $10 million annually is $6 million less than what Edmunds was making. That's easy math. It's a no-brainer for Poles.
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The Bears have a new starting linebacker who is a much better fit in terms of coverage, but also a willing and speedy defender against the run.