5 Chicago Bears players who will make or break the 2024 season 

3. The Chicago Bears need high-end play from Tremaine Edmunds 

Chicago made Edmunds one of the highest-paid linebackers in the NFL last year. He was not quite that in his first year with the team. His season went too similar to many others. He was banged up in the summer and was slow to get his footing in the new defense. 

Edmunds struggled early and then missed some time with an injury. However, when he came back, the defense started to become the unit so many thought it could be. Edmunds became the player that fans thought he was, and he was starting to put away all of the talk about his play earlier in the year. 

This year, there are no excuses. Overall, he was not the third-best linebacker in the NFL, or even close. However, based on average annual value, that is how he was being paid. If the Bears got a linebacker who was competing for an All-Pro, this defense would transform overnight. With Matt Eberflus specializing in developing linebackers, it is possible. 

However, Edmunds still has a chance of being a miss. At the very least, his impact will not be felt in the way that the team envisioned when signing him. Dexter is a make-or-break player because he is such an unknown, Edmunds is a make-or-break player because if he does what he was signed to do, he could take this defense to an entirely new level. If not, it may maintain a limited ceiling.