Tag: T.J. Edwards

30 Most Important Bears of 2023: No. 8 T.J. Edwards

At No. 8 in our 30 Most Important Bears of 2023 is T.J. Edwards, who should help shore up a struggling run defense from last season.

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the 2023 NFL season, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. There are a number of players, coaches and front office members that are crucial to the team’s success this season.

Every day from now until the start of training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2023 season. We’ll recap their 2022 season, look ahead to 2023 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.

Next up at No. 8 is linebacker T.J. Edwards, who should play a key role in overhauling one of the league’s worst defenses from a season ago.

Bears 2023 training camp preview: Linebacker

Next up in our Bears training camp preview is linebacker, a position group that was overhauled drastically this offseason.

Chicago Bears training camp is just around the corner, so it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

We’re unveiling our Bears 2023 training camp position previews, breaking down every player by position and examining the group’s biggest question.

Up next are the linebackers, a position group that was overhauled drastically this offseason with the additions of Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. They also drafted rookie Noah Sewell, who will compete with Jack Sanborn for the SAM role.

Here’s a closer look at the Bears’ linebackers heading into training camp:

4 reasons for optimism as Bears prepare for training camp

Despite winning just three games last, there’s plenty of optimism surrounding the Bears heading into 2023.

The Chicago Bears are coming off a 2022 season where they won just three games and lost 10 consecutive contests to end the year. Yet, you wouldn’t know it this offseason.

2023 feels like a year of optimism for the Bears because (*cue Elsa from Frozen) for the first time in forever, the Bears have expectations. Not necessarily championship expectations, but fans do expect this team to be fighting for a playoff spot in a wide open NFC.

With that in mind, here are four reasons why the Windy City faithful should be optimistic about the Bears in 2023:

Bears LB Jack Sanborn ‘ready to hit the ground running’ for training camp

Bears LB Jack Sanborn is ready for training camp, where he’s 100% after recovering from his ankle injury.

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The 2022 season was an overall disappointing outing for the Chicago Bears, as nagging injuries and inadequate play culminated in the club only scoring three wins in 17 games. The season wasn’t all doom and gloom, however; several players took hold of their opportunities and made the best of them.

Quarterback Justin Fields is the prime example, of course, but there were other players who displayed growth in their roles, such as safety Jaquan Brisker, cornerback Kyler Gordon and, most surprisingly, undrafted rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn.

Wisconsin’s own Sanborn became a real diamond in the rough for a Bears team that desperately needed a spark at the linebacker position, especially after former Bears All-Pro Roquan Smith was traded to the Ravens.

Sanborn’s quietly solid season came to an end after an ankle injury in a late-season matchup against the Eagles placed him on the injured/reserved list. Both the fans and media had some concerns that the injury may keep the young linebacker out of training camp, but Sanborn put those worries to rest in a recent interview with ESPN 1000 Bears Weekly, in which he confirms that he’s “ready to hit the ground running.”

The hosts of the show, former Bears Tom Thayer and Jim Miller, asked Sanborn about the sort of topics he discussed with the front office during his end-of-season exit interview.

“We all understood what the main goal was, the main goal was getting healthy,” Sanborn said. “Getting my ankle to 100%. And obviously, I didn’t do OTAs and do minicamp, (I) just really focused on trying to getting back, and getting back to 100%…

“I’ve kind of made my offseason a little different… but I think, at the same, I’ve made the most of it, you know, trying to get better at different areas… and yeah, I think, everyone’s comfortable. I’m very comfortable with where I’m at right now… yeah, (I’m) ready to hit the ground running in a week or so, and, you know, start year two.”

Sanborn’s readiness for his sophomore year is an exciting prospect for Bears fans, considering general manager Ryan Poles committed to rebuilding the linebacker position in the offseason, signing the Bills’ Tremaine Edmunds and the Eagles’ T.J. Edwards. Add Sanborn into the mix, and that creates one frightening position group that will punish anyone daring enough to challenge the linebackers over the middle.

Sanborn filled up the stat sheet in his debut season, recording 64 tackles, one fumble recovery, and two sacks.

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Badger Countdown: Former number 53 signs new NFL deal

The return of college football is on the horizon and the Badgers are now 53 days away from their 2023 opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2.

The return of college football is on the horizon and the Badgers are now 53 days away from their 2023 opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2. With Luke Fickell at the helm, many believe that Wisconsin’s defense will remain one of the top units in the country and one of the team’s former stars got a new NFL deal this offseason.

After an incredibly successful four-year career with Wisconsin from 2015-2018, T.J. Edwards, who wore number 53 with the Badgers, went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, but he quickly found his footing in the league.

He signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent and he increased production in each of his four campaigns with Philadelphia. He went from 30 tackles in 2019 to 159 in 2023, recording a 389 total takedowns over that stretch.

Edwards became a free agent again this past offseason following the Eagles’ trip to the Super Bowl in February and he decided to move on to a new squad. The linebacker signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Chicago Bears and he will be pairing up with his former Badger teammate Jack Sanborn.

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Ranking the best Bears offseason acquisitions

We looked at every Bears offseason acquisition made by Ryan Poles to determine which ones were the best.

When the Chicago Bears take the field for the first training camp practice later this month, there will be plenty of new faces to see. General manager Ryan Poles was busy this offseason, overhauling areas of the Bears in hopes of improving upon a league-worst 3-14 record.

But with premium draft capital and the most available cap space of any team in the league, Poles made plenty of moves to bring in new players that should help the Bears rebound. Some moves were flashy signings that took place at the start of free agency. Others were late-round draft picks who could turn out to be steals. But which ones were the best?

Here is our ranking of the best Bears offseason moves thus far in 2023.

Badger Countdown: Former Badger LB finishes career with 67 tackles over 300

The Wisconsin football team is now 67 days from their opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2 at Camp Randall as the 2023 CFB season closes in.

The Wisconsin football team is now 67 days away from their opener against Buffalo on Sept. 2 at Camp Randall as the 2023 college football season closes in. A former Badger is entering his first season with a new team in the NFL after an impressive career in Madison.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards spent four seasons with Wisconsin from 2015-2018 and was an instant impactful player. He recorded 84 tackles in his freshman season, never dropping below that number during his time in Madison.

He finished his Badger career with 367 career tackles, which is good for the ninth most in program history. Edwards went on to go unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft, but he was quickly signed by the Eagles.

Over four campaigns in Philadelphia, the linebacker racked up 389 tackles and he just signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Bears this offseason. In Chicago, he has reunited with former Badger teammate linebacker Jack Sanborn.

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Bears 2023 linebacking corps earns high grade from PFF

People have high hopes for the Bears and their revamped linebacker unit.

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The Chicago Bears invested plenty of money in their linebacking corps this offseason and it’s led to high expectations for the upcoming season. One NFL analyst went as far to say it will be one of the best units in all of football.

Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently ranked every linebacker unit in the NFL and has the Bears at No. 2, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers who claimed the top spot for the second consecutive year in his rankings. The Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, and Cincinnati Bengals rounded out the rest of the top five.

Here’s what Wasserman had to say about why he chose the Bears as high as he did.

Chicago’s front seven underperformed in 2022, so the team used free agency to acquire two of the highest-graded players at the position. Tremaine Edmunds arrives from Buffalo after a long-awaited breakout that saw massive increases in his overall (81.9) and coverage (90.0) grades. The latter mark, along with his 10 pass breakups, led all qualified linebackers.

T.J. Edwards comes with less fanfare but was the unsung hero of the Eagles’ elite defense. He played nearly 1,200 snaps and graded above 78.0 against the run, in coverage and as a pass-rusher, which added up to the sixth-best overall grade (81.6) at the position.

Second-year man Jack Sanborn provides a good complement as a rugged, SAM-type linebacker in Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense. He showed flashes of talent last year, posting 80.0-plus grades in his last two games.

This group hasn’t played together yet, but the Bears are banking on talent and couldn’t have much more at their disposal.

As Wasserman points out, none of the projected starting linebackers have played together yet but individually, they bring a lot to the table. Edmunds, the prize of free agency for the Bears after signing a four-year, $72 million deal, is still very young at just 25 years old despite entering his sixth NFL season. He has the ideal physical traits for a middle linebacker and has produced in each season, totaling over 100 tackles every year he’s been in the league.

Edwards, meanwhile, signed a three-year $19.7 million deal in free agency and joins Edmunds as a potentially lethal duo. The 26-year old totaled 159 tackles, seventh-most in the NFL last season with 10 tackles for loss. He and Edmunds also each had seven pass breakups, tied for seventh among all linebackers according to data from Pro Football Reference.

They join Sanborn, the lone holdover from the 2022 season who wasn’t even on the radar as a starter last fall. He didn’t get playing time until the Bears dealt Roquan Smith and promptly put on a show as one of the bright spots on defense with his instinctual play. He had 59 tackles in six starts. The Bears also drafted linebacker Noah Sewell in the fifth round this year, who could work his way into the rotation as well.

With training camp yet to begin, this unit is still getting integrated and it could take some time for them to gel. But it’s clear those around the NFL have high hopes for the Bears linebacking corps when the regular season begins.

WATCH: Justin Fields finds Robert Tonyan for one-handed touchdown at Bears minicamp

The Bears wrapped up their mandatory minicamp on Thursday, but gave fans a parting gift as they left Halas Hall.

The Chicago Bears wrapped up their mandatory minicamp on Thursday, but gave fans a parting gift as they left Halas Hall. Following the final practice, the Bears posted video of a highlight that took place featuring quarterback Justin Fields and tight end Robert Tonyan.

The highlight was a dart thrown by Fields to Tonyan in the end zone, who made a one-handed grab to secure the touchdown. The ball was thrown just over linebacker T.J. Edwards’ hand and Tonyan was covered by safety Elijah Hicks.

The talk of the offseason has been the Bears’ addition of wide receiver D.J. Moore, but Tonyan is another new face in this offense and Fields is finding ways to get him the ball. Tonyan signed a one-year deal in free agency back in March after spending the last six seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Playing alongside Cole Kmet, Tonyan should see plenty of opportunities as a complimentary player in the offense.

This highlight might be the last one fans see for a while as the team is off until training camp later next month, but it has many of them pumped for what’s to come.

WATCH: Justin Fields and D.J. Moore connect with impressive touchdown at Bears OTAs

The connection between Justin Fields and D.J. Moore continues to get better and better.

The connection between Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver D.J. Moore continues to get better and better.

The duo provided an impressive highlight during Wednesday’s organized team activities (OTAs) that will likely be a preview of what’s to come this fall.

During team drills, Fields dropped back and delivered a perfect pass across the middle to Moore, who was double-covered by cornerback Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards. The pass was just beyond Gordon to hit Moore right in the hands to score a touchdown in the end zone.

While the team has yet to practice in pads, let alone play in a game, the chemistry between Fields and Moore on the field has been evident since offseason programs began. Players, coaches, and reporters have all commented on their connection after seeing the two up close.

Moore was acquired from the Carolina Panthers in March in a trade surrounding the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The 26-year old receiver has 5,201 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns in his career and is the new unquestioned WR1 for the Bears.

Wednesday’s practice highlight should be a preview of what’s to come when the regular season begins and it already has fans salivating over the potential these two players have.