With the Chicago Bears wrapping up their preseason and roster cuts happening in the coming days, there are still a few questions to be answered within this team.
One of the bigger question marks, all offseason, has been within the group of pass rushers in Chicago. Other than Montez Sweat, the Bears have long lacked a capable compliment. So far, in the preseason, a couple of different players have stepped up.
Rookie fifth-round pick Austin Booker and veteran Daniel Hardy have looked phenomenal, and both should wind up making the team. Booker might even supplant DeMarcus Walker as the starter next to Sweat.
But, the Bears would still be banking on a player who had never done it before. Because of that, many fans have long pleaded for the team to bring in a familiar face to add to their pass rush room. And, that's exactly what Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox is predicting the Bears to do.
"Yannick Ngakoue is coming off a bit of a down season but has a strong track record," Knox wrote.
Although Ngakoue only tallied a career-low 4.0 sacks in 2023 with the Bears, his season was ended four games prematurely due to injury. That's not saying he could have skyrocketed to double-digits in the final handful of matchups, but Ngakoue could very well have ascended along with the rest of the unit as the season came to a close.
Yannick Ngakoue would give the Bears much-needed depth rushing the passer
If the Bears were to re-sign Ngakoue, fans would feel a whole lot better about this group going forward. He could start along with Sweat, but we'd still get to see plenty of Booker as a rotational rusher. Not to mention, maybe Hardy carries his strong preseason into the regular season as well. And, Walker is still there for a good amount of snaps.
That gives the Bears five formidable pass rushers with one at the elite level and another with tons of experience notching over 10 sacks in every pro season aside from just last year.
Knox also noted that Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently disclosed the fact that Chicago had been talking about bringing Ngakoue back, so it's not just merely an idea at this point. This is something that has legs.
With rosters being finalized shortly, Ngakoue is likely to receive a few calls from interested teams. The way the Bears are trending upward, what better opportunity to write a comeback story for Ngakoue?
Ryan Poles should make this signing official before another team swoops in and inks arguably the only legitimate pass rusher left on the free agent market, this late in the game.