Bears Miss Out on Former All-Pro Pass Rusher After Deal With NFC Rival

The Chicago Bears defense could use another edge rusher this summer to round out the position group, and it just lost out on a player who would have been a near-perfect fit.

Von Miller, an eight-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro selection, signed a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders on Wednesday, July 16.

Miller will play the upcoming season at 36 years old, and though he is well past his days as one of the dominant edge rushers in the NFL, he remains uniquely qualified to fill a rotational role in that capacity for a contender/team hoping to contend. Chicago falls firmly into that latter category, while Washington clearly occupies the former.

Both teams were in the doldrums of the NFC following the 2023 campaign, with the Bears coming off a 7-10 campaign and moving on from former first-round pick/quarterback Justin Fields, while the Commanders sought to improve from a 4-13 mark and prepared to part ways with Sam Howell.

Chicago owned the No. 1 overall pick via a trade with the Carolina Panthers and selected QB Caleb Williams. Washington went second in the 2024 draft and came away with Jayden Daniels. Thus, while the Bears regressed to 5-12 last season, the Commanders made a leap to 12-5 and earned a spot in the NFC Championship Game.

Daniels also made the Bears 2024 defense a forever blip on his highlight reel by connecting on a 52-yard Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Noah Brown to clinch an 18-15 victory that was a turning point for both teams. The loss marked the start of a 10-game losing streak for Chicago that ended in a head-coaching change.

And now, the Commanders have gotten the better of the Bears again by picking up Miller.

Bears Don’t Have Elite Pass Rusher Anywhere on Defense

Of course, Chicago failing to sign Miller isn’t the end of the world.

The two-time Super Bowl champion pass rusher wasn’t the only available addition at the position this offseason. And given Washington’s interest and Miller’s age, he may not have chosen the Bears even if they did reach out, as Chicago appears to have further to go to achieve true championship contention than its NFC East counterpart.

But Miller did produce eight and six sacks for the Buffalo Bills in 2022 and 2024, respectively, and he is also 16th all-time on the list of NFL sack leaders with 129.5 on his resumé.

Chicago was precisely in the middle of the pack in that category in 2024, tallying 40 sacks as a team and tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for 16th out of 32 defenses. Defensive end Montez Sweat lead the Bears with 5.5 sacks last season, while returning defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. was second in the category with 5.0 of his own.

Chicago needs more production off the edge next season, so it is somewhat puzzling that the team isn’t more aggressively pursuing a value option like the one Miller presented before signing in Washington.

Bears Urged to Consider Trade Market to Upgrade on Edge

The Bears upgraded the defensive line this offseason, signing defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency.

However, the two combined for just 5.5 sacks between them in 2024. Furthermore, the Bears are likely to rotate Odeyingbo to the interior more often than not in obvious pass-rushing situations during the upcoming campaign.

That will leave the burden to create pressure off the edge to Sweat and young rotational players like second-year defensive end Austin Booker (1.5 sacks in 2024) and rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner, who has exciting upside but tallied just 10 sacks in four collegiate seasons, including just two last year for Texas A&M.

It is unclear how much the Washington is paying Miller for 17 games of his pass-rushing specialty, as the team has not yet released those details. However, it is painfully obvious the Bears need to add another QB disruptor ahead of Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, September 8, at Soldier Field.