The Chicago Bears have significant questions on defense as they attempt to defend their division title in 2026, but the team also has considerable flexibility to remake that side of the football as early as next offseason.
One player who could be on the block if he struggles at all this season is linebacker TJ Edwards. Edwards has spent three years in Chicago, starting all 44 games in which he has played.
Chicago inked Edwards to a two-year, $20 million extension in April of 2025 that keeps him under contract through 2027. However, he missed seven contests last year due to injury and the Bears brought in LB Devin Bush, who is two years Edwards’ junior and coming off a career campaign in Cleveland, on a three-year deal worth $30 million.
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron noted on September 1 that Edwards is among a handful of potential cut candidates on the defensive side of the football next offseason.
“The #Bears’ defense will look much different in 2027:
- Coby Bryant: Returning from season-ending injury
- Grady Jarrett: Frees $13.5M if cut
- Dayo Odeyingbo: Frees $15M if cut
- Kyler Gordon: May never play for Chicago again
- Tyrique Stevenson: Hits FA in 2027
- T.J. Edwards: Frees $8.5M if cut
IMO, this offense will get them to make the playoffs again, but we’re not gonna see the full potential of this team until next year. 2026 should still be very fun. But Ryan Poles will have the chance to wipe the slate clean of his mistakes in 2027, which is exciting,” Infante wrote.
Devin Bush, D’Marco Jackson Make Sense as Bears’ 2 Starting Linebackers
Odeyingbo is a less lucrative cut option after Chicago restructured his deal in recent days as part of a push to open up $17 million in salary cap space and move from approximately $12 million in the red to nearly $5 million in the black.
But that just renders the $8.5 million the team might save on Edwards that much more valuable, as the 30-year-old potentially becomes more replaceable during/after the upcoming campaign.
That could happen, in part, because of Bush’s arrival and the team’s obvious longterm plans for him as well as the fact that D’Marco Jackson is a better scheme fit in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense.
“The Bears wanted more speed at linebacker and got it in Bush, who ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash and was clocked at 20.23 mph during his 97-yard interception return for a touchdown in 2025,” ESPN’s Courtney Cronin wrote July 24. “Bush slots in at middle linebacker in what Poles called ‘a perfect fit’ in Dennis Allen’s defense.”
Chicago is liable to start just two linebackers in a base 4-2-5 scheme that makes use of two safeties and three cornerbacks, which could have Edwards on the sideline more often than not after three years as a starter.
TJ Edwards May Have to Play at Best Level of Career to Remain in Chicago Longterm
On Monday, September 7, Anthony Miller of FanSided named Edwards among the group of Chicago players on the “hot seat” heading into 2026.
“If Edwards’ contract were more team-friendly, he might have been cut or traded during the offseason with Tremaine Edmunds,” Miller contended. “Now, Edwards has to step up and play the best football of his career. While he gets tackles, it doesn’t translate into the best results on the field, so he could leave Chicago if he doesn’t improve.”
If Edwards’ remains a viable future cut candidate over the course of the regular season, the team could also explore trade options ahead of the NFL’s November 10 deadline.
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