Ryan Poles Will Let Bears Edge Rush Situation Play Out in Camp

No edge rusher move is expected for the Bears at this time as GM Ryan Pole says he'll wait and see how those on the roster look with the opportunity they've been given.

Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus on Caleb Williams.mp4 /

Bears GM Ryan Poles knows all too well about the perceived hole the team has at defensive end.

He wants to see the capabilities of players on hand before he dips into the free agent talent pool yet again.

They'll go with DeMarcus Walker, rookie Austin Booker, unproven third-year edge Dominique Robinson and veteran journeyman Jake Martin for now as the counterbalance to rush ace Montez Sweat.

"Yeah, I don't really see it as a defensive end problem," Poles said. "Our mindset's always, how can we make a position group the best we /can possibly make it and as deep as we possibly can make it."

It's the old "coach them up," philosophy with new defensive coordinator Eric Washington and defensive line coach Travis Smith trying to get something more from the younger players.

"So it’s like I said, just really leaning on Travis and Eric to continue to develop the players that we have in and see, especially when we get pads on, see how they do. We saw some really encouraging things during OTAs. But we all know this game is played in full pads, so we want to see that process through."

The obvious available player is Yannick Ngakoue, one of their own unsigned free agents. He had four sacks and in Week 13 suffered a season-ending broken ankle after they paid him $10.5 million on a one-year deal for the 2023 season.

Ngakoue has continued to post videos of his condition as he rehabbed from the injury.

"So with the physical therapy, our athletic trainer has been a part of that all the way through," Poles said. "Evaluation-wise, I think once we got Montez, you saw the sack rate go up for really everybody," Poles said. "So I think it enhanced everyone.

"But I really enjoyed our time with him (Ngakoue). I thought he did a nice job. Brought some leadership. So it was positive."

The question will probably be whether it was positive enough to pay him a big chunk of their $12.3 million remaining camp cash, if they even need to do it, or if they see someone else available at more of a bargain rate.

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