The Chicago Bears have a laundry list of needs heading into the 2025 offseason.
With offensive line likely the priority (as it should be), the team also must fill multiple voids on the defensive line. Adding another pass rusher opposite Montez Sweat is at the top of that list.
Considering the expected batch of free agents set to become available, Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder pegged current New Orleans Saints edge — and former Sweat teammate — Chase Young as someone Chicago should sign this coming offseason.
“Edge-rusher has been an issue in Chicago all season, and Darrell Taylor is an impending free agent. Meanwhile, the front office has $82 million to spend in free agency, according to Over The Cap, meaning it could target a big fish on the open market,” Holder wrote, adding:
“Young will be one of the top pass-rushers available this spring because of his age and production. While the 25-year-old had just 5.5 sacks through Week 16 this season, PFF had him with the ninth-most pressures (58) at his position. This would also bring the top two edge defenders from the 2020 draft class to the Windy City.”
Should Chicago Bears Sign Edge Rusher Chase Young in 2025?
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks included Young among his top players “who have raised their respective stocks” heading into free agency this offseason.
Calling Young “an enticing boom-or-bust prospect in a league that’s always hungry for QB hunters,” Brooks believes the current Saints pass rusher has shown “enough disruptive potential to entice a needy team to gamble on his upside and potential.”
Should that team be the Bears? It likely depends on what his asking price will be.
In 16 games this season, Young has amassed 30 total tackles (8 for loss), 5.5 sacks, 21 QB hits, a forced fumble and two passes defensed. He has also had some of the best games of his five-year career this season.
In the Saints’ Week 14 win over the New York Giants, he tied his career high by generating 10 pressures on 36 pass rushes, the most by a Saints pass rusher over the last two seasons. This included showcasing an impressive explosiveness, as Young netted six quick pressures in under 2.5 seconds, via USA Today’s Saints Wire.
Young’s presence has definitely bolstered the Saints’ pass rush this season. Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi noted the tangible progress he has seen from the unit over the season, attributing it to strategic adjustments and the efforts of players like Young.
Young Has Has Up & Down Career So Far
The second overall pick by Washington in the 2020 draft, Young’s rookie season was outstanding. He finished with 7.5 sacks, 44 combined tackles, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, earning him the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and a Pro Bowl nod that year.
In 2021, Young’s momentum was halted by an ACL tear, limiting him to nine games with 1.5 sacks and 26 total tackles. The injury led to a bit of a prolonged recovery, causing him to miss the majority of his 2022 season.
Upon returning in 2023, he played seven games for Washington, contributing 5.0 sacks, before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers mid-season. With the 49ers, Young added 2.5 sacks and notably recorded a sack in Super Bowl 58, despite the team’s overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In March of 2024, Young signed a one-year contract with the Saints for $13 million. Despite undergoing neck surgery that delayed his participation in training camp, he was ready to go at the start of the season and has been healthy since.
Young turns 26 in April, and while his injury history is a concern, he hasn’t missed more than one game in each of the last two seasons. Still, the Bears Will have other options at edge rusher in free agency.
Both Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick are set to be available, and the Bears could also take a chance on someone like Malcolm Koonce, who had 8.0 sacks in 2023 but missed 2024 due to injury. Koonce would likely be much cheaper than Young, too.
We’ll see how it all shakes down, but you can bet the Bears will be scouring the market for pass rushing help, and Young will be one of several options.
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Bears Predicted to Land Former NFL Rookie of the Year Next Offseason