Chicago Bears Face Obstacles in 2024 Reunion with Veteran Edge Rusher

Much of the hype surrounding the Chicago Bears heading into training camp and the week of the Hall of Fame game revolves around the new pieces on offense, mainly rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze. However, the most interesting positional battle over the next month or so will be on the defensive side, specifically at edge rusher, and the team might be getting some bad news concerning a potential reunion from a season ago.

Chicago Bears Looking to Find Starter Opposite Montez Sweat

Currently, defensive end Montez Sweat, who just registered his first NFL Top 100 nomination, is the Bears' number one edge rusher, but there is still some mystique in which player will line up opposite the former Washington Commander first-round pick. Sweat's running mate from a year ago, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is currently a free agent, and Bears fans have remained optimistic that the player who racked up four sacks in 13 games a season ago would return to the Windy City in 2024.

However, it appears that Ngakoue, the eight-year pro, has other suitors interested in his pass-rush expertise, specifically the Carolina Panthers, who will be hosting the veteran for a visit, per Adam Schefter.

As a reminder to those who have been following along with HBO's NFL Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, Big Blue traded for Panther's star edge rusher Brian Burns (in one of the series's most captivating episodes), leaving Carolina with a vacancy on the end of their defensive line. Similar to his potential fit in Chicago, Carolina poses an opportunity for Ngakoue to see the field frequently,

If Ngakoue were to sign with the Panthers, it would mark his seventh team in six seasons, an impressive accomplishment fueled by multiple short-term deals, including last season's one-year contract with the Bears, and an in-season trade from the Minnesota Vikings to the Baltimore Ravens in 2020.

Ngakoue's journeyman status is no indication of his play on the field. As mentioned above, the edge rusher racked up four sacks in 13 appearances with the Bears, but his presence on the field was certainly felt beyond those numbers, especially at the beginning of the season before the Sweat trade. Still, last year was the least productive year of Ngakoue's career by far, due in large part to a season-ending ankle injury, marking the first time he failed to record eight sacks in a year as a pro.

If Ngakoue does not end up with the Bears for the 2024 season, the front office still has a lot of options to look to in the pass-rush rotation. Players on the roster, such as DeMarcus Walker, Jacob Martin, or rookie Austin Booker, could step into a starting role by the start of the season. General manager Ryan Poles himself stated "We feel really comfortable with the guys that we have on our roster now" when discussing the defensive end rotation on the first day of training camp, perhaps alluding to the fact that a reunion with Ngakoue is unlikely as of right now.

Ngakoue still has a lot in the tank, and his history of production will make him an enticing late-summer addition to practically any NFL team. His price tag, the duration of the contract, and his potential role with any team seem to be the chief decision-makers in Ngakoue's future and are reflected in his past signings as well. It is unclear exactly how the Bears work into his process, if at all, but from reading the tea leaves, the team might be favoring a different option in 2024.