Going into the 2025 season, Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat was facing a lot of heat for a down year in 2024, but the fan base's patience for him to find his elite talent level finally paid off.
Sweat is coming off the best season of his Bears career as he racked up 54 pressures, 53 tackles, 37 hurries, 18 quarterback hits, 13 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, five pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 17 games. Pro Football Focus graded him out at a 71.2 overall, ranking him 42nd out of 115 edge rushers who qualified.
Well, Sweat got his vindication on the great season he had as his peers thought very highly of him. The NFL players voted for the top 100 in the NFL as Sweat was revealed to be number 91 on the list.
Congrats Tez 👏 pic.twitter.com/tTH8tfeaLc
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 26, 2026
Montez Sweat proves himself as the first Bears players in top 100
Despite a Pro Bowl season in 2023, the doubt crept in for a lot of Bears fans with Sweat after the 2024 season, where he disappointed with 5.5 sacks. Many were starting to think that the $98 million contract Chicago gave him was a mistake, so the 2025 season was an important one for him,
Bears head coach Ben Johnson called Sweat out for having what he believed was the best season of his NFL career. Sweat has been praised as being by far the best pass rusher on a team that has been bad at it, but his work in stopping the run was also looked at as a strength for him.
Entering the 2026 season, Sweat is expected to continue to pick up the slack with the concerns of the pass rush, as he will be the focal point of the defense. With no new additions at edge rusher, Sweat is going to be the man again, with hopes of getting double-digit sacks again.
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Sweat has earned the right to be in the top 100 players in the NFL as he aims to move up on the list with an even better season coming up.
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