Chicago Bears Reportedly Sign Yannick Ngakoue

In a move everyone around the league expected, the Chicago Bears signed defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to strengthen their pass rush.

It finally happened. Many experts around the NFL predicted that the Chicago Bears would sign a veteran edge rusher to help strengthen the pass rush. On Thursday night, general manager Ryan Poles finally pulled the trigger and signed defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.

Last season, Chicago had the worst pass rush in the league. The Bears ranked last in sacks, quarterback knockdowns, and hurries. Opposing quarterbacks could stand in the pocket for a long time and then find an open receiver.

Going into the offseason, many people expected Poles to change that. They expected to see Poles to bring in a big-name free agent or draft someone. Poles signed DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green. They, however, are not elite pass rushers. They joined Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson as the edge rushers.

Surprisingly, he failed to select an edge rusher in the draft. Instead, Poles focused on the interior of the defensive line. He signed Andrew Billings to be the nose tackle. He then drafted Gervon Dexter Jr., Zacch Pickens, and Travis Bell. The thinking was that if the interior line was strengthened then it would free things up for the edge rushers.

Well, after a week of training camp Poles felt he needed an upgrade.

Poles finds a player known for attacking quarterbacks

Poles, who still owned the highest salary cap space in the league with about $28.3 million, used that advantage. He signed Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year, $10.5 million deal. Of that amount, $10 million is guaranteed.

The top available defensive free agent, DE Yannick Ngakoue, is signing a one-year, $10.5 million deal, including $10 million guaranteed with the Chicago Bears.

His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed the deal Thursday night.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 4, 2023

Ngakoue was the top free-agent pass rusher available. He was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ third-round pick in 2016. Since then, he is tied for the seventh-most sacks in the league with 65. He has never had fewer than eight sacks in a season.

Ngakoue is also durable. He has not missed more than two games in any season in his career.

Last season Ngakoue had 9.5 sacks with the Indianapolis Colts. Head coach Additionally, he recorded 19.5 sacks in the past two seasons.

Matt Eberflus was the Colts’ defensive coordinator before coming to Chicago in 2022. They still use a defensive system similar to his. That should help curtail any learning curve on picking up the system in Chicago.

Despite his pass-rushing prowess, there are concerns about Ngakoue. He is not as good against the run. Perhaps that is a reason why the Chicago Bears is the sixth team he’ll play for in five seasons. His pass-rushing skills are something the Bears desperately need, however. He will add a lot to the defense.

While the offensive help quarterback Justin Fields received soaked up all the attention this offseason, Poled did an excellent job of overhauling the defense. The defensive line is certainly stronger. Furthermore, the linebacker unit was transformed. Some believe this unit is behind only the vaulted San Francisco 49ers unit.

While this might not be the finished product of the rebuild, Poles has certainly done a great job of infusing a lot of talent to make people forget about the 3-14 season from a year ago.