One way or the other, with a very palatable way to clear significant salary cap space by parting ways, Tremaine Edmunds' time with the Chicago Bears was going to end this offseason. He appeared to have some level of a trade market, but with that apparently not coming to fruition, he was released instead.
Overall, Edmunds' three seasons in Chicago after signing a four-year, $72 million deal in 2023 will go down as a disappointment. But he did have a more impactful season in 2025, pairing four interceptions with his typical 100-plus tackles despite missing four games.
Teams that may have had interest in trading for Edmunds probably didn't want to take on the final year of his contract, especially as the Bears were considered likely to cut him. Those same potential suitors can now name their price to bring him aboard as a free agent, and have him for more than one year if they wish.
Tremaine Edmunds should do just fine in free agency after Bears' departure
As a nod to how fast things move in the NFL this time of the year, one of his predictions is already out the window one day after being published. But Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report has a prediction involving Edmunds as the legal tampering period to negotiate contracts with outside free agents nears.
"New York Giants Fill Gaping Void at LB With Addition of Tremaine Edmunds"
With a nod to what head coach John Harbaugh said about the importance of the inside linebacker position, and after the release of Bobby Okereke, Davenport made the case for Edmunds as a good fit for the Giants.
"There's a small problem—the Giants don't really have any inside linebackers at present. The team recently released Bobby Okereke, and after missing almost the entire 2025 season Micah McFadden is about to hit free agency."
"However, there's an off-ball linebacker who was also recently released in a cap-cutting move who could not only fill that void inside, but who would ostensibly be an upgrade over Okereke."
"Granted, Tremaine Edmunds never really lived up to the four-year, $72 million contract he signed with the Chicago Bears in 2022. But in eight seasons with the Bears and Buffalo Bills, Edmunds has never failed to amass at least 100 total tackles. Last year, Edmunds tied a career-high with four interceptions and logged 112 total stops in just 13 games, adding a passer rating against under 80 for the third time in the past four seasons. The 27-year-old two-time Pro Bowler also has experience wearing the "green dot" helmet communicator."
"The Giants have talent galore on the defensive line. But the team needs an experienced inside linebacker who can direct traffic on the defensive side of the ball."
Davenport's pre-legal tampering period free agency predictions include a contract prediction for each. He has Edmunds landing a three-year, $34.5 million deal from the Giants. That $11.5 million per-year average is only a little above Spotrac's current projected $10.4 million market value for him, though Spotrac projects Edmunds to get a two-year deal.
Read more: Latest free agency rumor would line Bears up to quickly repeat a mistake
In any case, wherever he lands, Edmunds is in line to land comfortably on his feet after leaving the Bears.