Grading Chicago Bears 2023 Free Agent Signings through bye week of 2023
TJ Edwards, LB
T.J. Edwards has a $5M cap hit this year. All of the fans who think the grading has been too harsh so far can finally relax because the Edwards signing was a hit. He is only on the books for $7M next year, and the Bears will have no issues with that.
Edwards started his season slow, but he has really come on lately. First, he was having issues in all areas and was exposed by Aaron Jones in coverage. The coverage was slow to come on, but the Bears started to get him adjusted as a timely blitzer. Then, the run defense improved.
In recent weeks, he has been much better in coverage. The Bears' defense against Jahmyr Gibbs was much better than Aaron Jones ten weeks earlier. Edwards is currently playing his best football for the team.
The only issue with Edwards is why the team felt a need to add Edmunds on top of him. Jack Sanborn could have played the MIKE and Edwards with Sanborn, which would have been a great, cost-efficient duo.