Bears Predicted to Sign Former $65 Million Edge Rusher Before Camp

The Chicago Bears are in familiar territory again in 2024 with a lingering need for additional pass-rushing depth on their defensive line, and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell predicts a “logical” move for them could be adding former Miami Dolphins starter Emmanuel Ogbah to an ultra-affordable deal for the new season.

Ogbah has notched 42.5 sacks and 268 total tackles over his eight-year NFL career and won a Super Bowl championship with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. He also had back-to-back nine-sack seasons for the Dolphins in 2020 and 2021, earning him a four-year, $65 million contract extension from Miami that included $32 million guaranteed.

Since then, though, the 30-year-old Ogbah’s star power has dwindled. He recorded just one sack over nine games in 2022 before suffering a season-ending triceps injury. And while he bounced back for 5.5 sacks in 2023, the Dolphins elected to move on from him and cut his contract this offseason to save roughly $13.6 million against the salary cap.

Still, Ogbah could have value to a Bears defense that already has a star in Montez Sweat and is looking for more of a rotational addition than an every-down defensive end.

“Those numbers aren’t going to project to All-Pro production over a full workload — Ogbah is probably best spotted in a situational role at this point of his career — but the Bears need bodies in their edge rotation,” Barnwell wrote on May 14. “Getting 300 snaps of solid pass-rushing performance from Ogbah for $2 million or so would be a good deal for GM Ryan Poles.”

Would Bears Prefer to Sign Emmanuel Ogbah or Bring Back Yannick Ngakoue?

Barnwell is not the only one who thinks the Bears could consider signing Ogbah. Former Bears scout Greg Gabriel also floated the possibility in a recent article for Windy City Gridiron, in which he stressed the need for the Bears to sign another veteran defensive end to address their “glaring weakness” opposite Sweat.

“Ogbah is 30 years old, and because of what happened in Miami, it may not be what the Bears are looking for, but I wouldn’t totally count him out,” Gabriel wrote.

That said, Gabriel still thinks there is a chance the Bears could explore a reunion with Yannick Ngakoue in 2024. Ngakoue finished with fewer than eight sacks for the first time in his career with Chicago in 2023 and had his season cut short in December when he broke his ankle, but he seemed to start turning things around once Sweat arrived.

In five games opposite Sweat, Ngakoue notched two sacks, two tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries and four defensive stops for the Bears. The team would need to feel good about Ngakoue’s recovery before giving him serious signing consideration, but his familiarity with Matt Eberflus’ defense could give him an edge over outside veterans.

Bears Could Wait Until Training Camp to Add Edge Rusher

The Bears could act fast to sign another edge rusher to their roster. They are less than a week away from the start of OTAs on May 20 and will practice nine times over the next few weeks, including their three-day mandatory minicamp from June 4 to June 6. That time could be valuable for an outside addition, like Ogbah, to acclimate to the system.

Then again, the Bears are likely more interested in seeing what their current personnel can do before jumping to conclusions about what they need for the 2024 season.

The Bears are confident in Sweat and what he brings to the table, but they also have reasons to be optimistic about veteran DeMarcus Walker heading into his second season with their defense. He recorded a career-high 47 pressure and nine tackles for loss in 2023 and played a key role in the Bears boasting the league’s best run defense. He will turn 30 in September, but a full season with Sweat could elevate his production.

The Bears also have an intriguing newbie in fifth-round pick Austin Booker. He broke out with a 12-sack season for Kansas in 2023 and impressed the Bears enough that they traded a 2025 fourth to get back into the fifth for him, but he is a raw project player who must work to refine his skill set before they can count on him to contribute.

Chicago may feel that adding a veteran to the room and slow-feeding Booker as a rookie is the best approach to their development, but they did sign Jake Martin for depth in free agency. If Walker, Booker and Martin show promise in OTAs, the Bears could avoid another addition altogether and hold firm with their current personnel.