Getty Former Bears DE Mario Edwards is signing with the Jags.
After being one of the more surprising roster cuts for the Chicago Bears, defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. is signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN was first to report the news.
Edwards appeared in 27 games for the Bears in 2020 and 2021, playing in 12 games last season. He missed time last year after a positive COVID diagnosis, and he also was suspended two games without pay for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy.
In 141 pass rush snaps for Chicago in 2021, Edwards amassed 12 total pressures, three QB hits and seven hurries, per Pro Football Focus. He was also flagged four times in limited opportunities, and his penchant for getting penalized was a problem.
A personal foul on Mario Edwards. Drink.
The Jags will be the fifth team the 28-year-old defensive end has played for. In addition to his two seasons with the Bears, Edwards has also played for the then-Oakland Raiders (2015 to 2017), the New York Giants (2018) and the New Orleans Saints (2019).
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Bears Giving Younger, More Unestablished Players Opportunities
New Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus have made their mark on the team’s roster early, with several younger players and undrafted rookies getting opportunities over aging veterans with pricier contracts. The Bears have kept top pass rusher Robert Quinn and third-year standout Trevis Gipson, but other than that, fresh faces decorate the defensive ends room.
Free agent addition Al-Quadin Muhammad spent the previous four years playing under Eberflus in Indianapolis, and he’ll get opportunities in a 4-3 defense he understands well.
There’s also rookie Dominique Robinson, who Chicago selected in the fifth round out of Miami (OH) this year, and Kingsley Jonathan, an undrafted defensive end out of Syracuse on the roster, with both likely to fill the kind of reserve role Edwards did on defense last year. The Bears also have young defensive linemen Trevon Coley and Sam Kamara on the practice squad.
Thus, they elected to let Edwards walk, particularly after a slower preseason.
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Edwards Was Phased Out After Failing to Impress Team’s New Regime
“He is a player who has good flexibility where he does have to the athleticism to do both and in our system, like we talked earlier, we want to keep it as simple as possible for guys to play as fast as possible,” Bears defensive line coach Travis Smith said about Edwards during OTAs, via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports. “So right now, he’s playing inside for us and we’ll see how that develops and how he fits in the system.”
Edwards has played in 86 games over his seven-year NFL career, starting 25. He has 118 total tackles, 35 QB hits and 16.5 sacks in that span, and he should still be able to be a solid role player and contributor in Jacksonville. He just didn’t fit as well in Eberflus’ defense as other players did.
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