Getty The Bears chose Yannick Ngakoue over Justin Houston in free agency.
The Chicago Bears signed veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue on August 3, adding a much-needed presence on the defensive line.
According to ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler, Ngakoue was the team’s top choice amongst the remaining available defensive ends, but the Bears also had another pass rusher in mind in the event Ngakoue were to land elsewhere.
Fowler visited Chicago’s training camp in Lake Forest on August 6, and he shared some interesting details he learned about the team while there, including Chicago’s backup option for Ngakoue.
“The Bears had eyed Yannick Ngakoue for a while before eventually signing him,” Fowler wrote on August 7. “A few reasons a deal took time: Ngakoue and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were looking for up to $13 million at one point, which was a non-starter for teams. The Bears also were under the impression that Ngakoue wanted a multiyear deal. The sides eventually found a middle ground. Justin Houston was a backup option for Chicago.”
Justin Houston Has Multiple Connections to Bears
Which Edge Rusher Fits The Chicago #Bears Best : Yannick Ngakoue Or Justin Houston
Houston spent the 2019-2020 seasons playing under current Bears head coach Matt Eberflus in Indianapolis when Eberflus served as the Colts’ defensive coordinator. The All-Pro pass rusher also has a connection with Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who he got to know when he played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2011-2019 when Poles was in the scouting department there.
A 12-year veteran, Houston, 34, wound up signing in Carolina with the Panthers on a one-year contract worth up to $7 million with incentives. The Bears chose to roll with the 28-year-old Ngakoue instead, and while they didn’t want to pay the $13 million annually he and Rosenhaus were seeking, adding him for $10.5 million ($10 million guaranteed) on a one-year deal feels like nice common ground.
Considering their need for a pass rush — the Bears were dead last in the NFL in sacks last year with 20 — adding Ngakoue, who had 9.5 by himself in Indianapolis a season ago — should bolster the defense immediately.
Ngakoue Says Landing With Bears Was Meant to Be
On DE Yannick Ngakoue to the #Bears…
Savvy, veteran edge rusher — with traits. First step quicks. Short-area speed. Can bend/flatten to create a path to the QB. Counters. And he fills a major need for Eberflus’ defense.
Chicago must produce more pass rush production in ‘23.
In addition to his 9.5 sacks last season, Ngakoue had 8.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and 16 quarterback hits (stats via Football Reference). Over his seven years in the NFL, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound defensive end has forced at least one fumble in all but one season and he has registered at least 8.0 sacks every year he has played. He should hit the ground running in Chicago, as he has worked with Bears defensive line coach Travis Smith during the 2021 season when both were with the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I’ve been a part of this system before,” Ngakoue said during his introductory press conference on August 5. “I just love everybody so far that I’ve met. Coach Travis, my position coach, we have history back in Las Vegas and I just love his style of coaching. I know that he can raise the level, the bar of all of us in the locker room as well as in the D-line room.”
The new Bears defensive end should bring much-needed leadership to a defensive line group that includes Dominique Robinson and Trevis Gipson. In addition to the scheme fit in defensive coordinator Alan Williams’ defense, Ngakoue thinks there might be a little kismet happening when it comes to his landing in the Windy City.
“I feel like it was meant for me to be here. I actually have a bear tatted on my hand. I feel like that was a sign to me that I was always meant to be a Chicago Bear.”