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.
2. Chicago Bears can find help on run defense
The one thing you will hear about Yannick Ngakoue when the case is going to be made against the signging is his run defense. It is true that Ngakoue has always been a much better pass rusher than he is a run defender. He has 395 pressures to 145 run stops.
Also, he has 3,534 pass rush snaps compared to 1,857 run defense snaps, which shows that coaches do not even try to get much out of him on run downs and rather save him for pass rushing. Pass rushing is supreme, but they did pay too much for someone who may not play many first downs.
The thing is that the Bears needed a pass rush so badly because they focused on run defense all offseason. As bad as the pass rush was, it was worse watching teams run in every direction at them and get away with it. What was worse was how often teams could get outside on the edges.
So, the team signed DeMarcus Walker, who is over 270 pounds and plays interior defensive line on half of his snaps. Then, they added Rasheem Green. Green is more known for his run defense than his pass rush, and he also is a heavier edge rusher. Both can hold up on the edge without being moved back.
More than that, the team added Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, and Zacch Pickens. Billings and Pickens are expected to be primary run defenders, with Dexter being the only one with legitimate pass-rush potential. When you add in the linebackers they paid for, the run defense was set to improve. They needed someone who sells out on the pass rush. They can handle the run-downs fine this season.
1. Chicago Bears have the cap space
The Chicago Bears paid a surprising price tag for Yannick Ngakoue, especially when you consider the timing of the signing. Teams are going to play preseason games about one week from now, and if multiple suitors were lining up to pay Ngakoue, he would have been gone by now. So, did the team overpay?
While it is possible, it is hard to say that the team overpaid when you look at their cap situation. First, it is a one-year deal, so it does not impact the future much. They could have rolled the cap space over to next year, but fans would rather see them go for it.
More than that, they have plenty of cap space next year. As noted, Ngakoue will not be on the books, and the team still can roll over plenty of space. They are not hurting, and rather they needed to spend to continue to get to the cash spending floor this season.
So, the team needed a pass rush after going all-in on run defense this offseason. They can handle the run defense lows because of this. When you add in that the cap space is not going to push the team up against any limit, it is hard to be too disappointed about this decision.