For the past couple of months, the Chicago Bears seem to have focused their efforts on upgrading the edge rusher position. That was confirmed when news broke they’d made a push to trade for Matthew Judon. Unfortunately, the four-time Pro Bowler refused their offer of a contract extension. As a result, he ended up going to the Atlanta Falcons instead. Such is the business of the NFL. Sometimes, you don’t close the deal. It appears Poles remains busy scouring the league for possible help.
However, their search might be expanding further along the defensive line. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, he’s getting the sense the Bears are keeping their eyes open for possible help at defensive tackle.
“None of those is outside the realm of possibility, but I’ll go with another position. I imagine the Bears will be keeping a close eye on defensive tackles hitting the waiver wire or veterans who are cut and immediately become free agents. The Bears always could flip a late-round pick for a player if it’s someone they project as a rotational backup.
Right now, they don’t have a lot of options, at least experienced ones, after Zacch Pickens. While everyone has focused on the idea of the Bears adding an edge rusher, I imagine they’re doing work looking at potential castoffs at tackle who could help them.”
This shouldn’t be a huge surprise. The Bears lost Justin Jones to free agency earlier this year, and now Zacch Pickens is dealing with an injury in training camp. This has considerably strained their already questionable depth behind Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings. Adding another body makes sense.
Obviously, they won’t find the next Aaron Donald on the waiver wire, but it would be a big help if they could add someone who can squeeze the pocket as a rotational player. The current free agent market is almost entirely barren. That means Poles must either utilize the Bears’ 9th spot on the waiver wire to scoop up an eventual cut or seek a trade with another team. What nobody can say for sure is who may or may not be available. All one can do is speculate on certain names.
For example, Bruce Hector has had a standout preseason with the New York Jets, a team considerably deep at defensive tackle. He might be worth a look. The same goes for Mike Morris over in Seattle. They are strong at the position after drafting Byron Jones in the 1st round. One can safely assume the Chicago Bears have a short list of guys they’re keeping an eye on. Things should become clearer after the final preseason game this week.
Poles has a reputation for finding good value on the waiver wire. He secured cornerback Josh Blackwell in 2022. Last year, they nabbed safety Quindell Johnson, who had an interception later that season.
