Bear Digest

What Ryan Poles' Pursuit of Matt Judon Says for Bears at Edge

Analysis: NFL Network's Scott Pioli confirmed the Bears tried to get Matthew Judon and if that's the case then apparently they see a need still. Would they pursue Haason Reddick?

Gene Chamberlain

Former Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick sacks Patrick Mahomes. Reddick is still holding out of Jets camp and wants to be traded. If the Bears pursued Matthew Judon, why not Reddick?
Former Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick sacks Patrick Mahomes. Reddick is still holding out of Jets camp and wants to be traded. If the Bears pursued Matthew Judon, why not Reddick? / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
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If the Bears were involved in pursuing edge rusher Matthew Judon, it's safe to say GM Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus are not entirely satisfied with the edge rusher situation.

Eight sacks in a preseason game and the 2 1/2 by Austin Booker last week apparently have not convinced anyone this type of production can happen in the regular season because one NFL executive has confirmed their pursuit of another edge.

On NFL Network's Good Morning Football, former NFL executive Scott Pioli said he was at Halas Hall during the talks the Bears had with Judon's agent.

"They were one of the teams that were talking to the Patriots," Pioli said. "They were talking to the agent for Matthew Judon. I was watching this whole thing unfold."

Pioli was GM with the Chiefs, Ryan Poles' old team. and a five-time executive of the year.

"When it happened, I thought there was a really good chance," Pioli said about the Bears getting Judon. "But what it came down to was the money and what was going to be done with the contract."

The Falcons eventually gave up a third-round draft pick for Judon.

Judon has a contract paying $6.5 million this year and wants an extension. He easily could have been a rental player, although a third-round pick is a high price for a player who will be around only one season. He could have sought more than $15 million a year on an extension that would have been for a player 33 years old.

Judon would have fit in fine, and there's nothing to say the Bears wouldn't have wanted him around past one year because they easily could have afforded it. Even the possibility of contract extensions for Teven Jenkins and Keenan Allen wouldn't have made an extension for Judon impossible.

However, the Falcons made the acquisition.

The ramifications of this loss for Poles does not necessarily mean the Bears sit and pout over it and accept a pass rush with Austin Booker joining Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker. Having four good edge rushers for a rotation is the way to go in this scheme because it lets them keep players fresh.

Unless they think Daniel Hardy has found a sudden formula for success he didn't have in L.A. previously or last year in Chicago, or that Khalid Kareem was holding back in the past and has something, they can use that extra edge.

They still have Jake Martin, who has been rehabbing from an injury. He may or may not be ready by the regular season but even in his case they are not getting a proven edge rusher. Martin averages only three sacks a season.

Besides their own free agent, Yannick Ngakoue, there is one other significant option apparently available and that's Jets edge Haason Reddick.

The Jets have said they won't trade him after he failed to participate in training camp following his trade from the Eagles. He had demanded a trade in Philadelphia and now with the Jets.

No doubt Poles knows how this game of trade demands is played. He just played it in 2022 with Roquan Smith.

It's something they should look into further but cautiously. Reddick only cost the Jets the same thing Judon cost Atlanta -- a third-round pick.

It was conditional, though, and considering his stats in recent seasons it seems more likely to wind up as a second-round pick because the trade term stipulated the Eagles get a second-rounder if Reddick makes 10-plus sacks and plays in 67.5% of snaps.

Reddick could be more valuable than Judon because he has 50 1/2 sacks over the last four seasons and is younger. Reddick turns 30 later this season.

The thing about Judon, however, is he came in at a size the Bears like in a defensive end at 6-3, 270. Reddick is only 240 pounds. A player like that would be a part of the pass rush but not necessarily the base defense. DeMarcus Walker plays end in the Bears system because he is more stout against the run but can also rush.

Either way, the Bears do have an extra second-round pick next year. Whether they want to give that up for a 30-year-old pass rusher who is holding out of Jets camp is the question. Who's to say he wouldn't get traded and then decide to hold out on the Bears after he did this with the Jets.

No doubt a player of his talent would be an immense help for the defense but with baggage of his own making the Bears could be expected to look for other ways to improve.

In the end they might end up right back with Ngakoue because they've apparently decided they need help even with the impressive second preseason game by their edges.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.