The Chicago Bears finally signed Yannick Ngakoue, a move that had seemingly been discussed for months. Since the move was so talked about, it is not the most surprising move, but it was still debated throughout the summer. While there can be questions about it, it made too much sense for the Chicago Bears to sign Yannick Ngakoue.
3. Chicago Bears needed the pass rush
The Chicago Bears filled their greatest weakness with one of their biggest strengths. While Justin Houston may have been a more complete signing, when looking at straight-up pass rush, there was not a better option than Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue had 9.5 sacks last season. He averages just over nine per year. Justin Houston also had 9.5 sacks last year but had just 4.5 the year before.
When looking at the Chicago Bears, Jaquan Brisker led the team with four sacks. Yes, their safety. We knew that Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson were not the answers, but the team did some work to sign DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green.
Walker had seven sacks last year but averages just over three sacks per season through his career. Green had just 3.5 sacks last year and averages 3.4 a year throughout his career.
Even more than the sacks is the forced fumbles. Ngakoue is known for this and is one of the best in the NFL at knocking the ball away. He has 21 forced fumbles, which is three per season. DeMarcus Walker has two career forced fumbles. Meanwhile, Rasheem Green has just three for his career.
The Chicago Bears did not have anyone in their edge group who could sack the quarterback like Ngakoue, and none of them were even close to getting the football out of the quarterback's hands. When you add that only Dominique Robinson is signed for the longer term as of now, the team has nothing to lose but to take a shot on a higher-end pass rusher.