Ex-Bears Starting LB, Former All-Pro Retires After 9 Seasons

Former Chicago Bears starting inside linebacker Alec Ogletree is hanging up his cleats and calling it a career after playing nine seasons in the NFL.

In a lengthy Instagram post on June 20, 2023, Ogletree announced he is retiring from the league at the age of 31 and thanked all four of the teams that employed him during his tenure as a pro inside linebacker, including the team that selected him in the first round of the NFL draft — the Los Angeles Rams — when he came into the NFL in 2013.

“And just like that, it’s a wrap,” Ogletree wrote on his Instagram on Tuesday afternoon. “Thank you [NFL],  [Rams], [New York Giants], [New York Jets and Bears] for allowing me to play nine unforgettable years in the league!!! Thank you to all my teammates that I got a chance to play with and know over the years!!”

Ogletree played for the Bears during Matt Nagy’s final season as head coach in 2021, originally signing as a depth contributor in training camp but quickly ascending to a starting role alongside Roquan Smith while Danny Trevathan struggled with injuries. He went on to start in 16 of 17 games for them at the inside linebacker spot, marking the final season of his playing career (as he went unsigned and did not play in 2022).

Several of Ogletree’s former Bears teammates — including Smith, Darnell Mooney and Andy Dalton — also shared some congratulatory words with him on his Instagram post.

“My guy!” Smith commented. “Appreciate you and all the game. Crazy how growing up watching you [at] Georgia — to then going to war [with] you. Much love & respect.”

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Bears Entering New Era for Linebacker Corps in 2023

While a Bears linebacker of recent past has now written his final NFL chapter, all eyes in Chicago are fixed on the linebackers of the future after general manager Ryan Poles made significant investments in the position during the 2023 offseason.

The Bears were in need of an influx of talent for their linebacker corps heading into the start of the new league year on March 15. They had traded Smith to the Ravens at the November 1 deadline last season and did not retain any of the veterans — Nicholas Morrow, Matthew Adams and Joe Thomas — that finished the season with them. The only promising piece set to return was 2022 undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn, who stepped up after Smith’s departure but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 15.

The Bears wasted no time correcting that issue, though, handing out long-term contracts to former Buffalo Bills star Tremaine Edmunds (four years, $72 million) and Philadelphia Eagles standout T.J. Edwards (three years, $19.5 million) to completely revamp the unit for the second year of Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense. They also signed 29-year-old Dylan Cole to give themselves more veteran depth in the room for 2023.

Additionally, the Bears used one of their fifth-round picks (No. 148 overall) to select Oregon standout Noah Sewell in the 2023 draft. While initial projections had him serving as a depth piece behind the starting trio of Edwards, Edmunds and Sanborn, Sewell took advantage of his extending playing time during OTAs with Sanborn still nursing his injured ankle and could legitimately push Sanborn for his starting job.

Regardless of how the battle shakes out, the Bears appear to have assembled their best linebacker unit — from top to bottom — in years heading into the 2023 season.

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Jack Sanborn Will ‘Be The Starter’ to Begin Camp

Speaking of Sewell potentially challenging Sanborn for his starting job, the competition between the two of them could be one of the most compelling battles of the summer for the Bears when they officially kick off training camp on July 25.

Eberflus made it clear during the final week of offseason workouts that the starting strongside linebacker job will belong to Sanborn to open camp. The Bears expect him to be 100% in time for camp and are eager to see if he can pick up where he left off in 2022 despite moving away from the middle linebacker spot, where Edmunds will now play. In other words, Sewell would most likely have to decidedly beat out Sanborn in camp to have a shot at prying away the starting job from the former undrafted rookie.

“We’ll see where he goes,” Eberflus said about Sewell on June 13. “With rookies, it’s always ‘know what to do first.’ So he knows his assignment so he can do it fast. He’s getting better at it. We love his instincts. He’s a very instinctual player.

“And so is Jack. Jack is a very instinctual player, plays multiple positions for us. But Jack will be the starter there going into it (training camp) and then we’ll see what Noah can do to press him.”

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