This offseason, the biggest wish on the Chicago Bears fan base's wish list was for the team to go get an elite edge rusher like Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson.
It turns out the Bears went in the completely opposite direction and did absolutely nothing to improve the position. ESPN released an article looking at each NFC North team, with the biggest surprise of the Bears' offseason being that they did not improve their pass rush.
"The Bears went from acknowledging that their pass rush needed improvement to saying they will rely on better coaching to fix their issues up front. In 2025, defensive end Montez Sweat led the Bears with 44 pressures while the next closest player was defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. with 17. Will coaching truly be enough to fix this team's weakest link? Coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles repeatedly talked about creating competition at every spot but fell short of doing that along the defensive line, particularly at defensive end. The Bears didn't sign or trade for an edge rusher nor did they draft one, so relying on the likes of Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker and Shemar Turner to claim the spot opposite Sweat is a gamble."
Were the Bears right in doing nothing about their pass rush issues?
This was a team that had only 33 sacks on the season, with six NFL teams having fewer. Sweat led the way with 10, but coming in second was defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, who had six.
The edge rusher position is the biggest concern, as the Bears are putting all their stock into Austin Booker being the guy. While an injury kept him out for the first half of the 2025 season, Booker still finished with 4.5 sacks, which is an improvement from the 2024 campaign.
It also falls on how other injured Bears defensive linemen do, like Odeyingbo and Turner. Chicago did not have Turner for most of the season, but Odeyingbo played the first half of the year and got only one sack, so he must do a better job.
Read more: It's starting to sound like Bears fans should prepare for a Luther Burden breakout
There's no doubt the Bears are taking a massive risk on their defensive line and hoping it works out with the personnel they have. If it doesn't improve right away, though, that line is going to see a lot of changes midseason and in the offseason, as this could cost them a Super Bowl title with the offense ready to go.
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