The Chicago Bears made some progress in improving their defensive line during the 2025 NFL offseason, but questions persist about whether they did enough to adequately address their glaring need at defensive end for the new season.
During free agency, the Bears signed veteran defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo to a three-year, $48 million contract that suggests he will likely start opposite Montez Sweat for their defensive line in 2025. They also beefed up the interior, signing former two-time Pro Bowler Grady Jarrett and adding Shemar Turner in the second round of the draft.
The Bears, however, are a little shakier at defensive end when it comes to depth.
Austin Booker, a 2024 fifth-rounder, could claim the top rotational role behind Sweat and Odeyingbo if he can take a step forward heading into his second season, but there isn’t much competition behind him between Dominique Robinson (who has assisted on just one sack since Week 1 of his 2022 rookie season) and special-teamer Daniel Hardy.
At the very least, the Bears could stand to add more competition to the mix for Booker and the other roster hopefuls, which is why Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton has advised the Bears to add depth with former New Orleans Saints edge rusher Tanoh Kpassagnon.
“While with the New Orleans Saints, Kpassagnon played in Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense between 2021 and 2024,” Moton wrote on May 24. “He would provide quality depth as a plug-and-play rotational end.”
Bears Could Sign Tanoh Kpassagnon at Bargain Price
Too often, the signing suggestions from NFL media about which pass rushers the Bears should sign for the 2025 season include high-paid stars who would not fit on the books.
Take disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals superstar Trey Hendrickson, for example. He is a difference-making edge rusher who will add significant value to whichever team trades for him (if he is ultimately traded), but he is seeking a new contract that pays him closer to the top of the market. The Bears cannot afford that after investing meaningful money into Sweat ($24.5 million in per-season value) and Odeyingbo ($16 million).
But signing a veteran like Kpassagnon? That is something the Bears can realistically do.
Kpassagnon — who turns 31 in June — is entering the final stretch of his NFL career, but he should still have enough gas left in the tank to boost the Bears’ rotation. While his production (16.5 sacks and 141 tackles) does not jump off the page at first glance, it is stronger when taking into account that he has averaged less than 400 snaps per season.
The Bears could also potentially sign Kpassagnon for close to the veteran minimum after he tore his Achilles tendon last May and missed all but three games in 2024. A signing would naturally come with some injury risk, but Chicago can afford to take it since its defense needs a rotational contributor and not an every-game starter.
Allen described Kpassagnon as a “valuable part of what we do defensively” following his injury in 2024. If he still feels the same, the Bears might want to give the veteran a call.
Bears Have Multiple Options to Bolster DE Rotation
Kpassagnon is a viable option for the Bears if they are purely seeking depth on the edge and find that there is no lingering concern about his health heading into the season.
If the Bears are willing to spend more to get a more productive veteran, though, they still have options to explore in free agency before they reach training camp in late July.
Several accomplished veterans are still on the free-agent market, including two former Green Bay Packers starters — Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith — and 2024 Bears trade target Matt Judon, who ultimately ended up with the Atlanta Falcons instead. All three players would likely cost more than Kpassagnon, but the Bears have additional cap space after Joe Thuney’s extension and can free up even more with restructures.
The Bears could also roll the dice on younger talent who may benefit from a fresh start.
Former San Francisco 49ers second-round pick Drake Jackson would fit the bill for the Bears after recording six sacks in 23 career games over his first two seasons. He caught a bad break in 2024 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp that wiped out his entire season, but he is still just 24 and has plenty of time to bounce back in a new situation — if the Bears or another team feels good about his health.
Either way, the Bears will likely wait until closer to training camp to add more veteran talent to their roster — or at least until they have had the chance to evaluate what they currently have on their roster through the end of their offseason program in June.
