The Chicago Bears seem to have shut the door on the possibility of signing a three-time All-Pro — at least, for now — amid rumors about their interest in adding another pass rusher before the start of 2026 NFL training camp.
Despite widespread expectations, the Bears didn’t make any major moves to strengthen the defensive end position on their 2026 roster over the past several months of the NFL offseason. Instead, they chose to trust in the growth of their returning personnel, such as $48 million veteran Dayo Odeyingbo and 2025 second-round pick Shemar Turner.
Speculation about what the Bears could do to improve the position has persisted since the end of last month’s NFL draft, though, with multiple analysts floating the possibility of the team reuniting defensive coordinator Dennis Allen with veteran Cam Jordan.
Unfortunately for the Jordan-to-Chicago hopefuls, Allen essentially shot down the idea that the Bears are having talks about bringing in the three-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler — even though he left the door open a crack for things to change later on.
“My experience with him was outstanding,” Allen said May 9 during rookie minicamp. “Cam is going to be a Hall of Fame player — is a Hall of Fame player. I don’t know that there’s been a ton of discussion about that. I think we feel pretty good about where we’re at and what we have. And yet, you never know what opportunities might present themselves down the road.”
Cam Jordan Would Likely Cost Too Much for Chicago
Jordan would make sense for the Bears from a talent perspective if the team decided it wanted another veteran pass rusher before training camp. He is one of the best talents available on the free-agent market, coming off a 10.5-sack season with the New Orleans Saints in 2025. He has also never missed more than one game in any of his 15 seasons.
If Jordan does not return to New Orleans for 2026, though, he could fetch a high price on the open market, one that the cap-tight Bears could have some trouble affording.
Jordan has a projected market value of $6.8 million annually, according to Spotrac’s latest projections, but he could realistically push for closer to $10 million if there is a bidding war between two or more teams for his services in pre-camp free agency.
According to Over the Cap, the Bears have about $11.3 million in cap space coming out of the NFL draft, but they must devote a sizeable amount of that money to signing their 2026 draft class and their 2026 practice squad, among other financial expenses.
That leaves Chicago a little wiggle room to make another veteran signing, but likely not in the $7 million to $10 million price range — at least not for the edge-rusher position.
Don’t forget: The Bears would need to have a role envisioned for Jordan off the edge if they invested the resources into signing him, and while there are fair gripes about their plans at defensive end, they don’t have many roles to hand out with Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker and Shemar Turner all competing for snaps opposite Montez Sweat.
Dennis Allen Banking on Pass Rushers Improving in 2026
Allen took a bulk of the responsibility for the Bears’ pass-rushing shortcomings in 2025 when mapping out how he plans to improve the unit’s production for the 2026 season.
From Allen’s vantage, many of the Bears’ 2025 pass-rushing problems stemmed from an overemphasis on scheme. He candidly admitted that he and his assistant coaches focused too much on teaching the scheme responsibilities and not enough on cleaning up the issues with fundamentals and techniques that led to ineffective pass rushes.
“When we talk about the pass rush, one of the things that we’ve talked about is getting back to the fundamentals and how we teach those things,” Allen said. “We lost some of that because we were so focused on the scheme, and that totally falls on me. And so I think if we do a better job of the fundamentals and the techniques of doing some of those things that we’re going to ask them to do, then I think that we’ll get better at that. I think we’ll see our pass rush improve in terms of just our guys rushing as one unit.
“I think when our guys did it right, it was pretty impressive.”
It is certainly a gamble for the Bears — who finished second-to-last in pass-rush win rate (29%) in 2025 — to reload at defensive end without any significant upgrades. They did not get to see what Odeyingbo or Turner could do with a full season of work due to their respective season-ending injuries, but neither had much production beforehand.
Time will tell if they stay the course or reconsider bringing in a veteran pass rusher.
Bears Shut Down Rumors About Signing 3-Time All-Pro Pass Rusher