Tag: Chicago Bears Free Agency

Grading the Bears’ signing of LB Dylan Cole

The addition of Dylan Cole should give the Bears another steady special teams contributor. Here’s our initial grade of the move.

The second wave of free agency is coming to a close, but the Chicago Bears still made one more move before the week ended. They agreed to a one-year deal with former Tennessee Titans linebacker Dylan Cole on Thursday, adding yet another player to a revamped position group while stabilizing their special teams.

Cole came into the league in 2017 as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans and primarily played a role on special teams. He spent four seasons with them before joining the Titans in 2021 in a similar capacity. But last season, Cole saw the most playing time of his career. He played in 43% of the team’s snaps on defense and had 64 total tackles, including four for a loss, and one sack.

Now with the Bears, Cole joins a group of linebackers led by Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, and Jack Sanborn. He could see some time on defense, but his primary role will be on special teams. Here’s our initial grade of the move.

Grading the Bears’ signing of LB Tremaine Edmunds

Tremaine Edmunds is Ryan Poles’ first lucrative signing he’s made as Bears GM. Here’s our initial grade of the move.

The Chicago Bears prioritized the linebacker position during the first day of the NFL’s free agent negotiating window, agreeing to a deal with Tremaine Edmunds. The former Buffalo Bills star joined T.J. Edwards at the position, who signed just a few hours prior, as the team’s prized free agent at this point in the offseason.

Edmunds was drafted by the Bills in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft when they traded up to select him. He’s eclipsed 100 tackles in each of his five seasons in the league and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2019 and 2020. During his final season in Buffalo in 2022, Edmunds notched 102 total tackles, including six for a loss, one sack, one interception, and seven passes defensed.

General manager Ryan Poles made sure to shore up the linebacker position with Edwards and Edmunds, but paid a premium for the latter. Here’s our initial grade of the signing.

Grading the Bears’ signing of LB T.J. Edwards

The Bears signing T.J. Edwards could go down as one of Ryan Poles’ best free agent moves of his career. Here’s how we graded the deal.

The NFL free agent negotiating window opened on Monday and the Chicago Bears wasted no time in locking up their first signing of the offseason. They agreed to a three-year deal with former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards.

Coming into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, Edwards caught on quickly with the Eagles and became a key player on their defense. By his second year, he was a starting linebacker and improved in each season as a professional. Edwards had the best season of his career in 2022, totaling 159 tackles, 10 for a loss, two sacks, and seven passes defensed while also helping the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII.

Here is our initial grade of the Edwards signing.

Twitter reacts to the Bears signing LB Tremaine Edmunds

The Bears made a huge signing with LB Tremaine Edmunds and fans are split on the move. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the news.

The Chicago Bears are doubling down on the linebacker position in a big way this free agency. After agreeing to a deal with T.J. Edwards earlier in the day, the team is expected to sign Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal is for four years and $72 million with $50 million guaranteed.

Edmunds was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft after they traded up to select the young linebacker out of Virginia Tech. Edmunds had over 100 combined tackles in each of his five seasons, earning Pro Bowl honors in 2019 and 2020. During his last season in Buffalo, he notched 102 total tackles, including six for a loss, with one interception and one sack in 13 games played.

The signing of Edmunds’ is general manager Ryan Poles’ third of free agency, but it’s been the biggest one for the Bears so far. While it’s a significant move, Bears fans appear to be split on the decision to commit so much money to the linebacker position, as well as the decision to pay Edmunds after failing to extend Roquan Smith before he was dealt last season. Here is how Twitter reacted to the signing.