Where Ryan Poles absolutely must find a Bears edge rusher and why

The Khalil Mack edge rusher rumor mill for the Bears is churning again from people who have a habit of elevating possibility to fact, although GM Ryan Poles really does need to find an edge.

Dominique Robinson flashed very early in his career against New England and San Francisco, but has done little else. / Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rumors this time of year come at a rate of a penny a dozen.

One started by a Jason La Canfora comment this week carries little merit and that was the Bears and Khalil Mack reunion can't be ruled out of the picture.

Duh. Neither can the Bears and about any other free agent at any position at this point. Nothing has happened in free agency.

As often as La Canfora gets blasted for wild reports, though, he did have the Bears as one of the teams who were trying hard to make the trade for Mack in 2018.

That was then and this is now.

The Bears already traded Mack away once and he's no longer a fit in Chicago the way he would be elsewhere. In fact, social media erupted at the same time of the Bears rumor with talk about the chance he could become a Lions pass rusher, a Packers pass rusher, a Raiders pass rusher, a Ravens pass rusher ... name your team.

It's true the Bears need a pass rusher to complement Montez Sweat and Mack is the kind  who fits the Dennis Allen defensive end mold. He is both larger, at 269 pounds, and a stout run defender.  That's perfect.

It's a fun idea and that's where the fit for this Chicago situation ends for these reasons.

1. Cost

Mack is regarded as the No. 5 free agent overall by Pro Football Focus. The Bears already are expected to be interested in free agent No. 2, tackle Trey Smith. They need a center and if they pursue free agent Drew Dalman, the best available free agent center, they'd be looking at another eight-figure expenditure per year besides Smith. They don't have the money to sign Mack as well. It's simple math, and letting go of people like Gerald Everett and Ryan Bates will not recoup enough salary cap space to allow for something like this.

2. Cost

If Mack signs for the $20 million being projected by Spotrac.com, he becomes a top-10 edge rusher for annual cost. The Bears already are paying the $24.5 million a year to Sweat. No other team has two players in the top 12 for annual cost at edge rusher and the only one with more than one in the top 15 was the Saints with Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson and Chase Young. All came in at $13 million or higher last year, ranking 12th, 13th and 14th. That really worked out well, didn't it? Their defense collapsed, their coach got fired and the team is rebuilding with a salary cap nightmare. Spotrac does have Seattle listed as a team spending on two top 12 for cost but that's an error. One of the edges they list is Leonard Williams, who is a nose tackle. Edge rushers are expensive items and more than one among the most expensive per year is uncommon and wasteful because teams have other important, expensive needs, as well.

3. The Contenders

The Bears might like to think they can instantly become a contender and contenders often like to bring in an expensive pass rusher/hired gunslinger type for a year or two for extra punch while the window is open for a title run. The Bears are not that team yet. They're hoping to become a contender, not an actual contender.

There are numerous teams better situated to appeal to Mack if he wants to win a ring before he retires, and he is 34 years old. He waited until late last month to reveal he'd play another season. Someone operating in the league on a year-to-year basis isn't a fit for this Bears team's biological clock. It's a young team and not a good one yet.

4. Draft Abuse

Edge rusher is again strong in this draft. It's not considered by PFF to be as top-end dominant on the edge, but is thought to be a very deep group.

This is exactly what the Bears need because they can use their first pick for offensive line and then in Round 2 go to edge.

They should pursue an edge or a defensive tackle with one of their first three picks because of value available at the position. Pro Football Focus labels this edge rush crop a good one and the defensive tackle crop great.

The other reason to draft one is because Poles hasn't come up with enough young, developing defensive linemen from this part of the draft where chances are best they develop into productive long-term players.

In fact, Poles hasn't drafted a single edge rusher in three years higher than Round 5.

Don't get too down on Poles, though. It has been a habit of this galactically stupid franchise.

Since the 2014 draft, here are the edge rushers they have drafted in Round 4 or better:

• Leonard Floyd, 2016

That's it.

They've invested in Day 3 types and prayed they had uncovered a gem with Dominique Robinson, Trevis Gipson and Austin Booker in Round 5. Gipson is gone and the other two lack the luster they'd hoped to see. Robinson flashed very early, then nothing at all. And it's his contract year.

Floyd was a decent player who hadn't quite matured or figured out the job by the time his contract expired. He did develop ... with the Rams, Bills and 49ers, though, and has 49 sacks for the five seasons since he left Chicago, after he had only 18 1/2 sacks in four Bears seasons.

So, not only has this franchise been unable to identify edge players they should draft, they've been unable to identify when they actually had one already on their roster.

It all means they almost have to take an edge in this draft, no matter which offensive lineman they select first.

Considering the free agency cost for edges, and that the only other edge players they've drafted since their last playoff win (2010) besides those already mentioned were Shea McClellin and Kylie Fitts, yeah, it's time to start drafting players who can rush the passer off the edge.

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