The Chicago Bears pass rush finally got the boost it needed on Thursday evening thanks to the signing of free agent defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The 28-year old pass rusher signed a one-year deal worth $10.5 million and instantly upgrades the team’s front seven after they struggled mightily to put pressure on the quarterback in 2022.
Ngakoue is entering his seventh season in the league and has bounced around quite a bit the last few years. Following a strong start to his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ngakoue spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, and most recently with the Indianapolis Colts. He totaled 29 total tackles (eight for a loss), 9.5 sacks and one forced fumble during his lone season in Indy.
Now Ngakoue comes to the Bears as a reinforcement to upgrade their pass rush, which was abysmal last season. The Bears only sacked the quarterback 20 times in 2022 and 6.5 of those sacks came from the defensive end position via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. Ngakoue essentially would have accounted for half of all the Bears sacks last season.
The signing felt inevitable, but was still a welcome one nevertheless. Here is our initial grade of the deal.