After months of being questioned about the being light on pass rushers, Bears general manager Ryan Poles finally delivered an answer Thursday.
The Bears agreed to a deal with former Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, a source said. NFL Network reported it’s a one-year, $10.5 million contract, which would make him the fifth-highest paid player on the roster this season.
He tweeted out a bear emoji shortly after the news broke.
🐻
— Yannick Ngakoue (@YannickNgakoue) August 4, 2023
Ngakoue, 28, has averaged more than nine sacks per season over his career and had 9½ for the Colts last season. Rookie safety Jaquan Brisker led the Bears with four sacks last season, and none of their defensive ends had more than three.
Pass rush long has been a concern for the Bears as Poles remodeled the roster. They were last in the NFL with 20 sacks last season and hadn’t done much to change that. Their biggest addition was DeMarcus Walker on a three-year, $21 million deal, which he earned after a career-high seven sacks last season.
The Bears were set to go into the season with Walker and Trevis Gipson as their top defensive ends. Gipson has 10 sacks in 40 career games.
If they can’t establish a viable pass rush, and perhaps Ngakoue is the solution to that problem, it’ll undercut the defensive upgrades Poles has made through free agency and the draft.
Poles and coach Matt Eberflus have been asked about every possible free-agent pass rusher, including Ngakoue, Jadeveon Clowney and Frank Clark, and the most they had said was they were taking a long look at them.
“We’re interested in a lot of free agents,” Eberflus said last week.
The question with any free agent who signs this late: Why is he still available?
In Ngakoue’s case there are a few reasons. First, it was widely speculated that he would only sign a multiyear deal, and that would’ve been problematic for Poles as he tries to protect his wealth of salary-cap space for 2024. Also, the book on Ngakoue is that he’s a one-dimensional pass rusher who struggles against the run.
Given how desperate the Bears are for pass-rushing help, they’ll happily accept that Ngakoue is a specialist.
Poles indirectly expressed caution about overspending in a situation like this at the start of training camp when he pressed about looking for veteran help.
“Sometimes you’re definitely going to need to bring in some older players that can come in and help us,” he said. “That’s always a piece of it. If you go over the line and do too much of that, usually with those contracts hurt you down the road.”
This one won’t. The Bears still will have about $18 million in salary-cap space this season, and that’s the extent of the impact. Ngakoue’s deal shouldn’t cramp negotiations for potential extensions for cornerback Jaylon Johnson or wide receiver Darnell Mooney, either.
The Jaguars drafted Ngakoue in the third round out of Maryland in 2016 and he quickly outplayed his draft position. He had eight sacks as a rookie, including one on Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer, and made the Pro Bowl the next season with 12.
He had 37½ sacks for the Jaguars over four seasons, then eight for the Ravens and Vikings in 2020 and 10 for the Raiders in 2021.
