4 Chicago Bears on the hot seat in Week 15

2. DeMarcus Walker, DE

With the news that Yannick Ngakoue is out for the season, it's going to be on the shoulders of DeMarcus Walker to fill those shoes. And, to be quite frank, it should be on his shoulders. There should have been pressure on his shoulders all season long. After all, the Bears signed him to a 3-year deal in the offseason.

Yet, to this point, Walker has accumulated just 2.0 sacks on the year. Now, he has accounted for 34 pressures, which isn't a bad number. But, it's time for Walker to step up and show why the Bears invested in him in the first place. With Montez Sweat on the other side, Walker should be able to contribute at a higher level than he did early on in the season.

Before last week's outing against the Detroit Lions, Walker had strung together two great games. Against the Vikings and then the Bears' first matchup with Detroit, Walker totaled four and five pressures, respectively, before mustering just one this last week.

Next offseason, the Bears could save $4 million by releasing Walker, so there is no guarantee he'll be here in 2024 when the Bears figure to be even more competitive. These last four weeks are pivotal for Walker, and it starts against Cleveland.