The Chicago Bears have plenty of objectives going into the 2026 season. One of them is overhauling their defensive line. Dayo Odeyingbo was a bad free agent signing. Not only was he unproductive, but he tore his Achilles tendon last season, leaving his future in question. The Bears are already looking for ways out of his contract. Grady Jarrett was also disappointing. They still need another defensive end and an interior pass rusher. Here is where the recent release of Bradley Chubb comes into play.
With a new general manager and head coach in place, it was only a matter of time before the Miami Dolphins started their spring cleaning. Despite a solid 8.5 sacks last season, Chubb was too expensive for them to keep around. Suddenly, another solid pass rusher has hit the free agent market. Most will assume this means the Bears can pounce on Chubb, adding a proven 8-10 sack guy to their roster opposite Montez Sweat. While that is true, it isn’t the most probable way the Bears will benefit.
Bradley Chubb will take another team out of the edge market.
Somebody will sign him to a strong contract at some point in the near future. Chicago doesn’t have the salary cap to make that work, at least not without serious sacrifices. They’d either have to cut or trade somebody expensive on the roster or restructure several deals, pushing money down the line. Neither is palatable for Bears general manager Ryan Poles. Besides, Bradley Chubb isn’t good enough to be worth the trouble. Instead, his hitting the market will mean another team needing edge rush help will see him as their solution.
The odds are pretty good that whichever team does sign him will be picking higher than the Bears in the 2026 draft. That means they likely won’t go EDGE in the 1st round. This means a potential prospect that the team likely has a great chance of slipping to them at 25th overall. Before you point out that Miami is now one of those teams, it’s true. However, they will be more focused on finding a quarterback and the necessary pieces to build around him. Edge rusher is an important but secondary concern right now.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
Chubb’s departure also helps the Bears in another way.
As teams make pushes for him, Trey Hendrickson and Jaelen Phillips, it should mean the secondary edge rusher market has one more option the Bears can look into. Guys like D.J. Wonnum, K’Lavon Chaisson, Boye Mafe, and Khalil Mack might be obtainable at more reasonable prices. Prices the Bears can afford. This is why the team not ending up with the big name who got released isn’t always a bad thing. There is a cascade effect to these moves that affects the wider market. Chicago has multiple ways in which they can benefit.
As things stand, the team has no definitive #2 rusher. Sweat is #1, and Booker, ideally, would be #3. Chubb could fit that role, but his market is likely to be too expensive. The hope is that a team like Dallas, Tampa Bay, or Washington will sign him. All pick ahead of the Bears in the 2026 draft. Getting one of them out of the market will help improve the odds of a young prospect slipping through the cracks to 25th overall. It’s a small benefit, but every little bit helps.
