One of the few gaps left in this season's stellar Bears roster is an edge rusher opposite of Pro Bowler Montez Sweat on the defensive line. But in the middle of the summer, general manager Ryan Poles expressed his satisfaction with the roster at hand.
"In the front office, it's our job to look at every option that's out there to improve our football team," Poles said in July. "We feel really comfortable with the guys we have on our roster now, and I'm excited, we're both excited, to see [defensive line coach Travis Smith] and [defensive coordinator Eric Washington] really put their hands on those guys and develop them as we go through the beginning of training camp.
"But we will always have our eyes on the list of players that we could potentially bring in."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
In a new interview with CBS Sports, reporters asked head coach Matt Eberflus about Montez Sweat, who quickly had a major impact on the Bears upon arrival. Sweat finished the season leading the team in sacks, despite playing in just nine games.
But during his response, Eberflus potentially alluded to the idea of the Bears searching for another edge rusher in the open market to pair with Sweat.
"He demands attention. That helps free up the other rushers," Eberflus said of Sweat. "That's so important to be able to do that (and) to have a guy like that. When you can have two, it's even better. And that's something we're searching to do here coming forward."
Bears News
Did Eberflus mean the Bears are searching internally, or externally?
Internally, they don't have many strong options. DeMarcus Walker remains the shoo-in for the position, as of this writing. Last season with the Bears, Walker finished with 3.5 sacks and 30 tackles from a fully healthy campaign. He recorded seven sacks with the Titans one year before during the 2022 season.
Austin Booker, the rookie the Bears drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, showed interesting flashes during the team's preseason game against the Bills last Saturday. He finished the game with 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and five tackles.
Still, that's a lot of pressure for a late-round rookie. Booker might be up for the challenge, but finding a veteran in the open market might be a better option. Then again, Eberflus preached continuity as the reason for his defense finishing as one of the top units in the league during the back half of the 2023 season.
Either way, Eberflus is well aware of the importance of generating a formidable pass rush, something the Bears have struggled to culminate over the last two seasons.
"It's important you don't have to cover as long, as the pressure's there," Eberflus said. "And what's great about 'Tez is he's a great run player, too. He understands stopping the run gets you favorable downs and distances so we can rush the passer. He's always done that well."