Releasing Tremaine Edmunds was a difficult decision for the Chicago Bears. He had a good season in 2025, notching four interceptions. Unfortunately, cap constraints forced their hand. They needed space and releasing the linebacker netted $15 million. The question now is how to replace him. It isn’t a stretch to think the Bears will go hunting for a long-term solution in the draft. However, they may not wish to throw a rookie onto the field before he’s ready. That is why they’re likely to add a veteran who can fill the void at least for this upcoming season.

Enter Alex Anzalone. The 31-year-old spent the past five seasons as a fixture on the Detroit Lions defense, showcasing good versatility as a blitzer and pass defender. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN strongly indicated he is the name to watch in Chicago.

“To replace Tremaine Edmunds, Alex Anzalone is a name to watch. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was with him in New Orleans and he’s good in coverage.”

It makes sense. Anzalone is a capable player. He’s usually good for around 90-100 tackles, two sacks, and an interception every year. Dennis Allen knows him, having helped the Saints draft him in 2017. Most importantly, he’s projected to command around $7 million in his next contract. That is plenty affordable for the Bears.

Anzalone isn’t as gifted as Tremaine Edmunds.

That is not the point, though. Signing him is not meant with that in mind. It is about adding a solid football player in the middle of the defense that isn’t too expensive, allowing Bears general manager Ryan Poles to allocate his limited funds to more pressing positions. Namely, left tackle and defensive line. Anzalone isn’t the big splash fans are hoping for, but he can be the smart pest in the middle of the defense Allen wants. It allows T.J. Edwards to shift back to his natural position at outside linebacker.

Yes, his age will be a talking point. Turning 32 in September sends a clear message that he is a stopgap measure at best. That is fine. The Bears can revisit this issue in 2027 with significantly more cap flexibility if they don’t draft and groom an eventual replacement. Compromises must be made somewhere. Chicago can’t plug every hole on the roster with studs. That isn’t how this works. Anzalone is a smart and dependable player who can be a pest against any offense. The Bears would know from many years of dealing with him.

History says day two of the draft is the spot to watch for linebackers.

Allen values the linebacker position fairly highly. During his long stint as New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator and then head coach, the team spent a 3rd round pick or higher on a linebacker four times in a seven-year stretch. Three of those four players went in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. That sends a clear signal about where the Bears are likely to focus in the upcoming 2026 draft. They have three picks in that range, and this linebacker class is said to be one of the better ones in years.

Anzalone would give the team some flexibility next month, not forcing them to be more aggressive at the position than they need to be. They can let the board sort it out. Make no mistake, though. They will be drafting a linebacker. They’re not going to put all of their eggs in the basket of an older player who has a history of missing a few games every year with injuries. Tremaine Edmunds’ true successor will be found next month. The former Lions standout is his placeholder.

Chicago Bears fans may remember last year when the team pulled a pair of surprises when they traded for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney right before the start of free agency. It was a puzzling decision at the time. People couldn’t quite understand the urgency on the team’s part. Then the market opened. Aaron Banks, who’d had a decent run in San Francisco, got $19.25 million per year from Green Bay. Will Fries, whose 2024 ended with injuries, still got $17.54 million from Minnesota. Trey Smith signed a $23.5 million per year extension. Tyler Smith got $24 million from Dallas. The guard market had exploded. Suddenly, the trades made way more sense. Even so, fans were baffled when the Bears did it again this year with Garrett Bradbury.

After losing Drew Dalman to retirement, everybody expected general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson to make a push in the center market. Then, just a couple of days before it opened, they sent a future 5th round pick to New England for Bradbury. Most called it a cheap move. They should’ve waited.

In fact, they may have acted on the same reliable information they’d received about the guard market last year. A day later, Connor McGovern, one of the biggest names expected to be available, signed an extension to stay in Buffalo.

Tyler Biadasz had already signed a new deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, taking him out of the picture. That left three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum as the only big name left. Based on the smoke coming out of Baltimore, it’s starting to look like he may not reach the market either.

The Bears once again stayed ahead of the curve with Garrett Bradbury.

If this plays out as many predict, it means the top three centers this year will have been locked up before the Bears ever had a chance to speak with them. Then they would’ve had Lloyd Cushenberry (cut by Titans), Ethan Pocic (turning 32), and Cade Mays (mediocre run blocker) as their best options. Not willing to risk Caleb Williams’ continued development on those options or a rookie, they swung the trade for Bradbury, who has started 105 games and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl last season.

While not the biggest or strongest in the league, he is a standout athlete, intelligent, technically proficient, and reliable in every facet of the game. He doesn’t commit many penalties and didn’t allow a sack last season. Experts have insisted Garrett Bradbury is a perfect fit for Johnson’s system. He was the pivot man for three top 10 offenses in Minnesota between 2020 and 2024. Kevin O’Connell runs a scheme not too different from Johnson’s. The fit makes sense.

The Bears’ next goal should be clear.

If they can find a way to plug the hole at left tackle, all of their primary issues on offense will have been resolved. The offensive line is settled. D.J. Moore was traded. All they need is a few fringe moves for depth purposes. That will give Poles free rein to focus all remaining resources, including most of the Bears’ high draft picks, on overhauling the defense. They need help across the board with edge rusher, defensive tackle, linebacker, and safety, all needing at least one new starter.

Garrett Bradbury wasn’t the splash fans wanted. However, it didn’t take long to prove that the Bears knew what they were doing. It became clear that the most desirable centers are unlikely to hit the market. Rather than waiting for a miracle, they chose to seek alternatives. That led them to Bradbury. He isn’t perfect, but he should at least buy them a year to get other areas sorted out. They can spend that time grooming an eventual replacement or try their luck in finding somebody better next year.

Losing out on Maxx Crosby was frustrating for Chicago Bears fans. He represented the one surefire way the team had of upgrading its pass rush after a middling 2025 season. The Baltimore Ravens became the big winners of that chance, forking over two 1st round picks. Now, Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson are forced to search for answers elsewhere. Well, it might be interesting to discover that revisiting the Myles Garrett situation isn’t a bad idea.

It was reported last year that the Bears checked in on the availability of the single-season sack record holder before ultimately settling for Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. They were rebuffed. Have circumstances changed? Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado indicated that tensions between the future Hall of Famer and the Browns organization have risen substantially. It is believed the catalyst was the team’s decision to hire Todd Monken as head coach, which led to the departure of beloved defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

Myles Garrett has plenty of reasons to force his way out.

The Browns may have paid him a massive contract, but that doesn’t seem to have helped their efforts to build a contender. Their entire offensive line needs rebuilding, their primary quarterback option is Shedeur Sanders, who played poorly last season, and it’s no guarantee Schwartz’s replacement will be nearly as good. This team faces an extensive rebuild. At 30 years old, that probably isn’t something Garrett is thrilled about. If he is contemplating forcing his way out, the sooner the better.

While giving up two 1st round picks for Crosby wasn’t a line the Bears were willing to cross, this is different. Myles Garrett is the best pass rusher in the NFL. He has a case for being the best player, period. The guy is an alien. Typical age concerns don’t apply to him, just like they didn’t with Reggie White, Bruce Smith, and Julius Peppers. This is somebody who will produce double-digit sacks into at least his mid-30s and perhaps beyond. If the Bears were ever going to take that big swing, this is the guy to do it for.

Don’t count on the Browns budging.

Myles Garrett already put immense pressure on the organization to trade him. Their response was to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. They have made it clear that their goal is to keep him in Cleveland at all costs. It’s unlikely that stance has changed after he set the NFL record for most sacks in a season. Then again, Garrett’s lack of communication feels like a clear message that he is fed up with the organization. They have been badly mishandling everything since he joined the team in 2017.

The team had a quarterback in Baker Mayfield. They threw him aside for Deshaun Watson. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has led them to the playoffs twice, the only coach in franchise history to do so. He was kicked to the curb, too. What selling point do they have left that could convince Garrett to stay? Nothing. That is why the Bears should do everything in their power to lure him away.

Crosby was good. This is better.

The Chicago Bears explored the Maxx Crosby path extensively over the past few weeks. For a time, it felt like they had a reasonable shot of making it happen. However, as is often the case in situations like this, the price tag grew to a point where the team couldn’t justify it. As a result, the Baltimore Ravens became the big winners of the sweepstakes, handing the Las Vegas Raiders two 1st round picks in exchange for the star pass rusher. That was never a price Bears general manager Ryan Poles was going to pay. So that begs the question.

What was he willing to offer?

SM received new information from people close to the organization. The package involved was as follows:

• The 25th pick this year
• A 4th round pick
• CB Tyrique Stevenson

Essentially, that works out to a 1st round pick and the equivalent value of a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Chicago wasn’t willing to go over the top with another 1st rounder. Yet the big story is that they put Stevenson in the offer. That is a glaring indication that the star of the young cornerback has dimmed considerably in the organization. In truth, the warning signs were already there last season.

Putting Stevenson in the Maxx Crosby offer makes sense.

After all, the Bears had already begun phasing the former 2nd round pick out of the defense last season. Things started normally. Through the first eight games of 2025, Stevenson played 91% of the defensive snaps. His forced fumble against Dallas is viewed by many as a play that changed the season. However, after Jaylon Johnson returned from his extended stint on Injured Reserve, Stevenson saw his snaps drop as the team chose to go with Nahshon Wright and Johnson as the primary duo. He played just 39.6% of the snaps over the next five games and then was benched outright until the playoffs.

The indicators were there even before Maxx Crosby became available. Dennis Allen and his defensive staff didn’t see much of a future with Stevenson in the lineup. It isn’t overly surprising. The cornerback was a holdover from the Matt Eberflus era, and he has a reputation for undisciplined play. Part of the reason he was benched was his unreliability in zone coverage, a constant issue since being drafted. Allen and defensive backs coach Al Harris like athletic ballhawks at that position.

The Bears could move Stevenson in the near future.

If they were willing to package him for Crosby, that suggests the team could make him available to other teams. Part of the reason it hasn’t happened yet is that they’re about to lose Wright to free agency. They may wish to add some help at cornerback before moving Stevenson out. There should be no shortage of teams interested. He’s 25 years old and playing on the last season of his rookie contract. He is still talented and more than affordable for all but the most cash-strapped teams.

If and when it happens, the Bears are probably looking at a Day 3 pick for Stevenson. A 5th round pick feels like the ballpark. That would certainly replace the one they lost from the D.J. Moore trade a couple of days ago. Once done, names like Zah Frazier and Terell Smith will see opportunities to challenge for the starting job. It’s a safe bet that a veteran free agent and another draft pick could join the mix as well. This defense could look significantly different very soon.

Maxx Crosby felt like a possibility for weeks after listening to countless rumors. The Chicago Bears needed a pass rusher. He liked the idea of joining a team with a proven head coach that had just made the playoffs. However, things didn’t quite cross the finish line. News dropped on Friday night that the Baltimore Ravens sent two 1st round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for the rights to the star pass rusher. He joins a talented defense on a team reloading around its former MVP quarterback. Crosby gets his wish of joining a contender, while the Raiders get ammunition to rebuild.

So where does this leave the Bears? General manager Ryan Poles has stated on multiple occasions that you have to be careful about such blockbuster moves because they have a tendency to limit your contending window and ability to retool the roster. Two 1st round picks was never a line he was going to cross. He’d never seen it happen during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he’d never traded a 1st-round pick for a player in Chicago, much less two. It isn’t a surprise the Bears bowed out.

So what now?

The Bears can still take a big swing even with Maxx Crosby gone.

A few big names are on the table. The obvious one is Trey Hendrickson. He played for Dennis Allen in New Orleans and was dominant in 2023 and 2024 for the Cincinnati Bengals. Though he’s now in his early 30s, it’s not crazy to think he has two or three good years left. If he can stay healthy, it makes plenty of sense. The problem is that it could cost north of $25 million per year to make happen. That would chew up most of their available cap space.

On the other hand, if they wish to go a little cheaper and younger, Odafe Oweh is a name to watch. He’s 6’5″ and 250 lbs with 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons in Baltimore and Los Angeles. There is also Jaelan Phillips, fresh off 73 total pressures last year in Miami and Philadelphia. He’s 26 years old and valued at around $17 million per year. Any one of those free agents would certainly give the Bears’ pass rush a much-needed boost and be cheaper than Crosby.

Or they will dig through the bargain market and focus on the draft.

While making a splash was something Bears fans hoped for with Maxx Crosby, sometimes the team must be judicious with its resources. That is especially true when you have lots of holes to fill. Often, these teams take an affordable veteran who might still have some gas left in the tank and pair them with a high draft choice. The Bears tried doing this in 2023, signing guard Nate Davis and then right tackle Darnell Wright. Then they did it again a year later, trading for Keenan Allen and drafting Rome Odunze.

Such an approach this year would involve older veterans like Cameron Jordan, Joey Bosa, and Khalil Mack. None of them are in their primes anymore, but each still has some juice to help the pass rush. Signing one of them to a one-year deal would be a good first step. Then the Bears could go after one of the many talented edge rushers in this draft class.

• Akheem Mesidor (Miami): 35.0 career sacks
• David Bailey (Texas Tech): 29.5 career sacks
• Cashius Howell (Texas A&M): 23.0 career sacks
• T.J. Parker (Clemson): 21.5 career sacks
• Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami): 20.5 career sacks
• R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma): 17.0 career sacks
• Zion Young (Missouri): 11.5 career sacks
• Keldric Faulk (Auburn): 10.0 career sacks
• Arvell Reese (Ohio State): 7.0 career sacks

It may not be the splashy approach fans want, but this would improve both the talent and depth of the defensive line, which was a constant problem last season.