Bears' Best Options for EDGE Issue May Be a Future Hall of Famer or 'Freaky Athlete'

Whether they want to admit it or not, the Chicago Bears may have a huge problem at edge rusher on their hands this season.

That's because the Bears are depending on a trio of wild cards to provide support opposite Montez Sweat. Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner are both coming off serious injuries and neither was productive last season, and it remains to be seen if Austin Booker can build on his 4.5-sack campaign from 2025.

If we have learned anything about Super Bowl winners over the years, being really good in the trenches is crucial. Right now, it's fair to be skeptical Chicago has the horses, both on the interior and along the edge, to get over the hump in 2026.

After not landing an edge rusher in free agency of the draft, we would like to see Chicago make some kind of addition and NFL Network's Brian Baldinger offers up a few suggestions in Von Miller and Jadeveon Clowney.

"(Von Miller) is a guy I would be very interested in," Baldinger said on 104.3 The Score. "He's been healthy, he had a good season last year. He played 30 to 35 percent of the snaps, got nine sacks, still knows what he's doing."

"Jadeveon Clowney is good everywhere he goes," he added. "He's not a great pass-rusher, but he's a freaky athlete still. I thought he helped out Dallas a great deal last year. And so, I would always be interested in Jadeveon... and Von too because both of those guys have tremendous personalities. They're upbeat guys, they like to practice, they love the game, they got a smile on their face. Like, they're fun to be around. I just think that they add a lot."

We completely agree with Baldinger here. Signing Clowney or Miller should absolutely be on the table for Chicago.

Clowney led the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks last season, but that total is a bit misleading because 4.5 of those sacks came in the last two games of the season. The 8.5 sacks would have ranked second on Chicago in 2025, and even if you take away the 4.5 he tallied over the last two games, he still would've ranked fourth.

Clowney, who also offers some inside/outside versatility, has been a good run defender during his career as well, which should be of interest to a Bears team that had the sixth-worst run defense in 2025.

What makes Miller's nine sacks last season even more impressive is the fact that he only played 37% of snaps. It's also hard not to be impressed with the 36 total pressures he posted and, like Clowney, he can line up in multiple spots and play the run.

Both should come for a reasonable price, and neither one will command more than a one-year deal, so there's no long-term commitment for the Bears to make.

At the end of the day, signing either one of these veterans makes sense for the Bears. Whether or not they do so remains to be seen.

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