The Chicago Bears defense was out-kicking its coverage through four weeks, but the blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 5 highlighted the need for more juice on that side of the football.
Chicago is now 3-2 and headed to Atlanta to take on the Falcons next weekend. The NFL trade deadline is coming up on November 10, less than one month from now, and one area in which the Bears might still improve in the coming weeks is their pass rush.
The Houston Texans are 1-4 after a surprisingly bad start to the season and face the 4-1 Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC South Division showdown next week. If the Texans lose that contest, the path to the playoffs will become exceedingly difficult.
That might render Houston a seller ahead of the aforementioned deadline, and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney makes sense as a candidate for the trade block. He could also prove a viable solution to the Bears’ defensive concerns.
Texans Pass-Rusher Jadeveon Clowney Would Be Natural Fit on Bears Defense
Clowney made sense for the Bears before the season, and he continues to makes sense now.
The Texans are not sellers yet, even following a 1-4 start. But if they go 1-5 after playing the Jaguars in Week 6, they may as well start trimming a stacked defense to load up on draft capital and set themselves up to finally draft some quality offensive linemen and improve that much-maligned unit.
Clowney is a solid pass-rusher, though he can also play on early downs, which makes him doubly useful as a depth option if defensive ends Dayo Odeyingbo or Montez Sweat miss any time with injury moving forward.
Clowney has tallied two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in three games played this season in Houston. He is on a one-year contract worth $5.5 million in 2026.
Bears Pass-Rusher Austin Booker Displeased With Lack of Playing Time Through Week 5
If the Bears decide to add another edge-rusher ahead of the deadline, it may not go over well with defensive end Austin Booker.
Booker, a situational pass-rusher on the defense to this point in the season, spoke publicly on Monday about his unhappiness with a limited role on the unit through five games in 2026.
“Two days before the #Jets game, #Bears DE Austin Booker expressed to me that he wasn’t happy with his role on the team,” Herb Howard of The Score reported on X. “He wanted more playing time. In the two games since then, Booker has 3 sacks and 4 TFLs.”
Booker has tallied five tackles for loss and four sacks through five games in 2026 across 153 total defensive snaps, which means he has seen the field at a rate of 58 percent.
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