Bear Digest

Edge rusher's past gives Bears and NFL teams cause for questions

Marshall edge rusher Mike Green sought at the combine to get ahead of the questions about sexual assault and described what he faced for reporters.
Gene Chamberlain|
Marshall's Mike Green addresses questions about past accusations at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Marshall's Mike Green addresses questions about past accusations at the NFL Scouting Combine. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

It always seems to be the defensive line causing draft issues for the Bears.

One year it's Jalen Carter sitting there in Round 1 at a real need position but they're afraid of character issues. Now, there are a few other possible concerns on the line at edge rusher.

It's just another reason for the Bears to stick to blockers, but even then their option could be affected by these situations by depriving them of options.

The combine's consensus No. 1 pick, Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, has a "stress reaction" in his right foot and agent Drew Rosenhaus told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that his client might undergo "pre-emptive surgery" which requires putting a screw in his right foot.

The other edge rusher situation is potentially more serious. Mike Green of Marshall was the object of one sexual assault accusation in high school and one in college, neither of which resulted in charges.

With Carter, it seems rather unlikely a player that good would slide as far as 10th or even fourth or fifth due to a stress problem in a foot. Such injuries clear up with a little time and Carter is so dominant, well worth the wait.

However, Green is a player they might consider, although he was mock-drafted 15th to Atlanta by Mel Kiper Jr. in his latest mock, and was also 15th on NFL Mock Draft Data Base's consensus mock.

He is talented and first was a Virginia player before going to Marshall. He had no problem talking about the issue confronting him at the combine, hoping to get out front of the situation.

"Yeah, I mean there are accusations out there," Green told combine reporters. "I've never been questioned. I've never been asked. You know what I'm saying? Like nobody has ever asked me a question about what happened before I departed from Virginia.

"It was just accusations and that caused me to leave from there."

Green was suspended at Virginia after the situation in college.

"At the time, teams were able to just suspend you," he said. "I was suspended off the team. I wasn't let ... I (didn't have) to depart from the university. I could have stayed at the university if I wanted to.

"But after I got suspended, I wanted a fresh start. I wanted to go somewhere I was able to lay down a foundation. That's what caused me (to go) into the transfer portal and go to Marshall."

Green said the Virginia situation was from an anonymous report.

"It wasn't an anonymous complaint, it was an anonymous report," he said. "The complaint comes after the report."

Teams at the combine obviously have focused on these in their interviews with Green.

"It was nothing that came up out of it," Green said. "There's no questions that (have) even been asked of me.

"In high school, yes, they did do their due diligence and they ended up just closing the case."

Dealing with the situation was described as difficult by Green.

"I'm not going to lie, it was tough, simply because when you're being portrayed to be somebody that you're not, I mean, it's hard," he told reporters. "Just going to another team, it's definitely a culture shock.

"When you go to different teams, everything is a lot different. It took me a little bit of time to adjust, but after I adjusted to Marshall's culture and the fans, the family, and the university welcoming me in there, there's no place I'd rather have been."

Green said he didn't hold it against Virginia when he wasn't supported better.

"It was a new coaching staff that just got in there, not a lot of credibility," he said. "There's nothing, to do this day, I think it's still a guy that I can talk to. I held no grudges on him. I have no grudges for the University of Virginia.

"Of course, it was a little challenging to overcome that, of course. But I still took a lot away from the situation, and I still took a lot away from Virginia. I met a lot of great people. To this day, I still talk to a lot of coaches that coached there and players that play there. No grudges are held. I still love the university. I just love Marshall, also."

Playing the role of police, one reporter asked Green flat-out if he denies wrongdoing related to sexual assault allegations.

"Correct. Once again, I've done nothing wrong," Green said.

Whether the Bears would be looking for pass rusher at this point is uncertain but when Poles didn't draft Jalen Carter it only showed how careful he is with off-field things.

This time it's different. Green is thought by draft experts to be a first-rounder but not a generational talent. There are other questions about him from the Bears' standpoint.

One is his size as a Bears system fit. He's 251 pounds. Dennis Allen never had a defensive end lighter than 261 pounds on the Saints from 2018-2024. It doesn't fit his scheme, although 251 can easily become 260-ish.

Playing at Marshall is also a possible concern. They're not exactly a dominant football power. He had 21 1/2 sacks at Marshall the last two seasons, 17 1/2 last year. He had one sack in one season at Virginia. Then again, Khalil Mack played at Buffalo, a MAC school, and no one could complain about his NFL productivity.

Either way, Bears focus needs to be initially on protecting Caleb Williams and then the pass rush.

Considering Ben Johnson's offensive-side focus, it would be difficult to envision them picking defensively first.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.