The Chicago Bears held things together against the Atlanta Falcons without both starting defensive ends last weekend, but the unit is flirting with disaster the longer it fails to address an obvious need with several affordable solutions.
Montez Sweat is out another game against the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football due to his two-game suspension from the NFL for violating its performance-enhancing drug policy. Fellow starting DE Dayo Odeyingbo will miss at least another three contests due to a quadriceps injury he suffered in Week 5, which sent him to the injured reserve list (IR).
And while Sweat will return, there is no guarantee of if, or when, Odeyingbo will be healthy enough to resume his regular duties. That renders the Bears candidates to make a move for a player like Khalil Mack of the Los Angeles Chargers ahead of the league’s November 10 trade deadline, but there might be a cheaper option in free agency.
Five-time Pro Bowl edge-rusher Joey Bosa has not officially retired, though he also never signed with a team this offseason. Chicago could, at the very least, reach out to Bosa to gauge his interest in coming back for a half-year to play for an NFC contender, which would mean a salary for the pass-rusher but not the loss of a draft asset in any sort of trade.
Joey Bosa Makes Sense for Several Contenders in Need of Pass-Rusher, Including Bears
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report on Tuesday, October 20 suggested that Bosa makes sense as an addition to the San Francisco 49ers, where his younger brother Nick Bosa currently plays.
However, essentially the same logic applies to a truncated regular-season run for the 31-year-old pass-rusher in Chicago over the remainder of this season.
While ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted during the offseason that Bosa was “leaning towards retirement” rather than play an 11th NFL season in 2026, an opportunity to finish out his career with a Super Bowl ring … might convince him to change those plans.
Even at the age of 31 with a history of injury, Joey Bosa can still be a force. He tallied five sacks, nine tackles for a loss, 16 quarterback hits and a league-leading five forced fumbles in 15 games with the Buffalo Bills last year.
Bears Could Turn to Daniel Hardy as Dayo Odeyingbo Replacement
Chicago could also test its luck with a player currently on the roster, as defensive end Daniel Hardy made an impression in Atlanta.
Hardy played just 34 snaps against the Falcons and recorded six pressures, which is the highest total for any Chicago pass-rusher this season.
“I thought Daniel Hardy did a good job when it got to some of the rush stuff,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said following the contest, per Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “There’s nobody on our team that works any harder than Daniel Hardy.”
Hardy, 27, is a four-year pro who has spent the past three seasons in Chicago. Over that period of time, he has appeared in all 40 regular-season contests (one start) and tallied a total of 126 defensive snaps along with 846 snaps on special teams.
Bears FA Pitch Replaces Dayo Odeyingbo With 5-Time Pro Bowl Edge-Rusher