BEARS EMBRACE HIGHER ED
Edmunds alone looks to be solid replacement for Smith, but they got Edwards, too
General manager Ryan Poles’ decision to trade Roquan Smith on Oct. 31 came at the confluence of what Smith and the Bears each wanted. Smith sought an annual salary of about $20 million. The Bears wanted a weakside linebacker who could take the ball away.
“We covet ball production in that position,” coach Matt Eberflus said two days after Smith was dealt to the Ravens for a secondround draft pick. “So that right there is a very important thing that a ‘Will’ linebacker needs to do.”
On Monday, the Bears agreed to sign a weak-side linebacker who didn’t take the ball away as often as Smith did. They’ll give former Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds $72 million — with $50 million guaranteed — over four seasons, making him the highestpaid Bear. It’s the largest four-year deal for an inside linebacker in the NFL.
Edmunds, who was drafted 16th overall in 2018, eight spots behind Smith, has fewer career interceptions and fumble recoveries than Smith does, but one more forced fumble. Edmunds has 35 passes defended to Smith’s 23, while Smith leads by sizable margins in sacks and tackles.
The Bears are projecting more ball production going forward from Edmunds, who, at 24, is 13 months younger than Smith. At 6-5, 260 pounds, he’s 4 inches taller and about 30 pounds heavier than Smith — a frame more in line with Eberflus’ ideal outside line-backer.
Edmunds’ athleticism is off the charts. When the Bills played at Soldier Field in December, it was Edmunds whom the Bills assigned to spy quarterback Justin Fields. Whenn he came out of Virginia Tech five years ago, Edmunds received a Relative Athletic Score that ranked 48th out of 1,779 linebackers to enter the draft going back 31 years.
Edmunds went to the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020, but last year was his best season. Pro Football Focus graded him fifth among all off-the-ball linebackers in 2022. The No. 6 linebacker, T.J. Edwards, formerly of the Eagles, also signed Monday with the Bears. Edwards, who grew up a Bears fan in Lake Villa, will make $19.5 million ($12 million guaranteed) over three years, a source said. He’ll play middle linebacker; his friend Jack Sanborn, another Wisconsin alum and Chicago-area native, could slot at strongside linebacker.
Combined, Edmunds and Edwards will average $24.5 million per season. Smith, who complicated negotiations with the Bears last year by representing himself, got his contract from the Ravens in January: he’ll average $20 million over the next three years. But add Edmunds and Edwards to the second- and fifth-round draft picks the Bears got in the Smith trade, and the Bears have a chance to reap dividends for years.
They had the worst front seven in the NFL last year. On Monday, they watched defensive tackles Javon Hargrave, Dre’Mont Jones and Zach Allen sign elsewhere, but they later added former Titans defensive end DeMarcus Walker on what sources said was a three-year, $21 million deal.
The Bears had a league-low 20 sacks last season. Walker had seven himself, plus 32 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and has a pressure rate of more than 10% in each of the last two seasons.
Edmunds connects to the 4-3 defense through Bears play- caller Alan Williams, a protégé of former Bills coordinator Leslie Frazier.
“Tremaine, it’s been fun to watch him grow,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He’s such a young player. He was such a young player when we first got him out of the draft. And he’s still a young player with his age. But to watch him mature and grow on the field [and] off the field has been a true joy as a coach. . . . You never replace a person or a player like a Tremaine Edmunds.”
The Bears always believed they could replace Smith, though.
And on Monday, they did.