Who Will Replace Tremaine Edmunds? Chicago Bears Have Several Paths

The Bears officially pulled the trigger on one of their more obvious offseason moves. They cut ties with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds today, opening up an additional $15 million in cap space in the process.

Bears are releasing former Pro-Bowl LB Tremaine Edmunds, per sources. Edmunds has been a full-time starter in each of his eight NFL seasons, and he now will become a free agent with 900 tackles on his resume. pic.twitter.com/2f1FWm5Fk5
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2026

Edmunds was ideally a player they would've liked to keep around, as they now have a glaring hole in the middle of their defense. However, there was no way that the contract was justifiable. Edmunds was set to be the third-highest-paid backer in the league this season had he been able to play out the final year of his deal.

While he was playing well last season before suffering a groin injury ahead of Chicago's Week 12 matchup against Pittsburgh, the contract (a four-year, $72 million deal signed in the 2023 offseason) will largely be considered a mistake. He got outplayed by fellow linebacker T.J. Edwards, who also put pen to paper the same day. The former earned a second contract that will keep him in Chicago through the '27 season.

Now that the Edmunds domino has fallen, the question will now become how the Bears will replace him. Luckily for them, they have a few viable options in that regard.

Bears can use 2026 free agency to replace Tremaine Edmunds

While the 2026 free agency class might not feature much premier talent, quite a few talented linebackers are looking for new homes this offseason.

Personally, I hope the Bears take a chance on former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal. The 25-year-old never blossomed with the Chiefs, but he's still one of the league's most athletic 'backers (evidenced by his 9.99 RAS score coming out of Wisconsin in 2022).

Leo Chenal was drafted with pick 103 of round 3 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.99 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 3 out of 2410 LB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/unnXwkfpiT #RAS pic.twitter.com/pPAYfWdtih
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) February 22, 2023

He would certainly accomplish their goal of injecting some speed into the defensive side of the ball. It also doesn't hurt that his modest production through his first four seasons (he has yet to eclipse the 70-tackle mark) could make him a relative bargain on the open market,

If the Bears pass on Chenal, Bobby Okereke would be another quality option who would bring speed to the defensive side of the ball. Notably, he also wouldn't factor into the compensatory picks formula since he recently got released by the Giants. Demario Davis and Alex Anzalone also make sense due to their previous history playing under Dennis Allen in New Orleans. They would be massive bargains compared to how much they were paying Edmunds.

The fact that Edmunds is now in this market should help Chicago if they decide to go this route, too. That's one more player saturating the market for another team to take a shot on.

2026 NFL Draft could offer Bears Tremaine Edmunds replacement

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the Bears didn't want to make any big splashes in free agency at the linebacker position. I'm confident the wealth of talent among the 'backers in the 2026 NFL Draft would be a major reason why they'd feel comfortable going that route.

Everyone knows about the athletic freak that is Sonny Styles, but he's obviously going to be long gone by the time the Bears are on the clock at 25. Anthony Hill Jr. and CJ Allen wouldn't be bad consolation prizes if they do opt to go for a 'backer in the first round, though.

Even better yet, Jake Golday, Jacob Rodriguez (!!!), Kyle Louis (!!!!), and Jake Golday would be great picks on day two. They now have two second-round selections (picks 57 and 60) following the DJ Moore trade earlier today. Any of those four players would be great additions at either one of those spots if they're still on the board.

Chicago's Depth Chart Could Offer Linebacker Help

I've been pining for the Bears to resign D'Marco Jackson for a loooooong time. I think he played remarkably well after signing with Chicago ahead of the regular season, and I would love for them to bring him back for another run. He is still a relatively unknown commodity who would be a massive bargain in the $3-4 million range per year. Well worth the price of admission there.

It's also important to remember that they drafted Ruben Hyppolite II in the fourth round of last year's draft. While it would be an understatement to say he had a disappointing rookie season, it would also be far too early to completely write him off as a draft bust. Players get better all the time, and I'm sure they have some hope that Hyppolite can do just that. A full offseason in an NFL locker room with a full workout routine should help a lot in that regard.

Also, while I don't think there's any chance that the Bears won't add to the linebacker room at some point this offseason, it's also worth noting that Noah Sewell (while on the topic of players getting much better...) finally looked like he belonged when he got his chance to shine last season. He has a lot of work to do in coverage, but he more than held his own in run support. His coverage limitations will probably keep him from playing an every-down role, but the sky wouldn't be falling if he had to take more on his plate in a pinch.