Welcome to the Wednesday Waiver where I'll look at the Bears roster and identify any potential changes and make (probably wrong) predictions/suggestions.
When its week 15 and you're in the hunt for a playoff spot, where do we all too often find our starters? Injured. This is why it's just as important to sign reliable veterans to the second and third team as it is to sign big names to first team. The Bears can dole out all the record contracts they want (they would never, but the point stands) to starters but you still need consistent talent for good value at the secondary (and sometimes third) team.
The Bears are understaffed on the left side of the Defensive End position (LDE). The projected first team player is DeMarcus Walker - who by all accounts is, alright. Last year he was tied for 63rd in the NFL in solo tackles with 19 total and tied for 77th in league in sacks with only 4 total. Currently the bears have him practicing on the right side almost as a tackle - closer to a 3 technique, which given Eric Washington's emphasis on the pass rush this year shouldn't be too surprising. That leaves the fans and front office, and even Walker himself, with the question, "who is opposite of Montez Sweat"?
Choosing not to sign another end is certainly a possibility, however I find this scenario unlikely. Yes, Walker could go back to being a LDE. But again, this year is all about the pass rush, and it would be logical to infer they're shifting him to the "undertackle" (3 technique player) based on reports out of training camp. Even if the Bears decide to slide DeMarcus Walker back to LDE, we do not have anyone on 3rd or 4th team. We barely have a guy on 2nd with Khalid Kareem, who has only had one NFL start where he recorded one tackle before spending time on the IR list. With all due respect to Khalid, he doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
The Bears need to sign another defensive end, someone to play opposite of Sweat. Emmanuel Ogbah would have been a good choice had he not just signed a one year contract with the Miami Dolphins. The name thrown around the most right now is Yannick Ngakoue. The team knows him (he played for the Bears on a one year contract last season) and his stats are similar to DeMarcus Walker. My problem with Yannick is his $10M contract. DeMarcus Walker is paid $3M less per year guaranteed. The Bears should sign Tyus Bowser - a great player who is coming at a great bargain after missing the 2023 season and part of the 2022 season due to injury. His production in 2021 was outstanding. He had 36 solo tackles and 8 sacks and he outperformed his pre-draft analysis. I truly believe that he could be a difference maker coming ready to get back to speed and prove he can be a productive player. Bowser's average annual salary was $5.5M per year with the Ravens, and we could probably get him for less. The Bears should sign him to a 3 year contract (I might be getting ahead of myself on this one. My knowledge of how NFL contracts work and are given out is LIMITED, so, feel free to clown me in the comments). Next the Bears should compliment Tyus Bowser by signing Markus Golden to a one year deal. He's aging, but his stats are comparable to DeMarcus Walker and Khalid Kareem, and he would come at a lower cost. His last contract was a one year $1M deal. Talk about midwestern value.
Tyus Bowser should be the next Bears signing to compliment Khalid Kareem, maybe along with Markus Golden. What do you think? How do you think the Bears should handle the defense going into 2024? Would you move DeMarcus back to LDE, or would you sign someone else?
Carl Lawson is worth consideration, especially if there is any confidence he can get back to 2022 level of production. He logged 7 sacks in ‘22 and 18 over 2019, ‘20 and ‘22. While he has a history with injuries (out 2021 and hampered by back issues in 2023), it’s hard to find any edge player with decent experience that doesn’t have injury baggage. He clearly doesn’t command anything close to the $45M he got from the Jets in 2021.
Keeping with the Lawson name…. Shaq Lawson?