Bears Insider Reveals Whether Chicago Will Look to Add a Free Agent at Key Position
The Chicago Bears are a little light at the defensive end position, with a player being moved to the IR.
The Bears placed second-year edge rusher Austin Booker on the injured reserve list with a knee injury in late August and are rolling into Monday Night Football with four defensive ends.
The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain suggests the team could sign one of the edge rushers they’ve tried out in recent days.
The Bears Working Out Players But Standing Pat
The four edge rushers on the Bears’ active roster are Montez Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Daniel Hardy and Dominique Robinson.
The Bears had 11 players, including three defensive ends, tryout for the team on Thursday. The most notable was Isaiah Foskey, Fishbain said, but no signing has been made.
Fishbain notes the Bears’ front office is “keeping their eyes” on who’s available, but the team is rolling with who they have for Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.
Recent statements from general manager Ryan Poles suggests that the Bears feel confident about the defensive lineman because of the interior rush, led by Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter Jr.
“I think this was the best training camp Montez Sweat’s had. He’s in really good shape, ready to go,” Poles said in late August. “I think Dexter’s ready to make a move. And then when you put those guys together with Grady — he’s been a great addition, not only on the field, but his leadership — that whole group is really lifted in terms of their play and their mentality. And then with Dennis, I’m sure there’s things we haven’t even seen yet in terms of him helping and enhancing and creating confusion to get to the quarterback.”
Bears Tryout Isaiah Foskey, Myles Cole, Hayden Harris
Out of Notre Dame, Foskey was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second-round of 2023 under former head coach Dennis Allen, who now is the Bears’ defensive coordinator.
His availability isn’t without reason—and Allen knows him better than most. Foskey was waived by the Saints as part of final roster cuts just two weeks ago.
In addition to Foskey, the Bears hosted defensive ends Myles Cole and Hayden Harris on Thursday.
Out of Texas Tech, Cole was drafted in the seventh-round by the Jacksonville Jaguars but was waived by the team at final cuts.
Harris, out of Montana, went undrafted and was cut by the Buffalo Bills days after he got into a scuffle at practice. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said at the time that he was most upset with veteran offensive lineman Alec Anderson and not Harris. He said Anderson gave a “cheap-shot.”
Patrick Mahomes’ Strategy to Unlock Chiefs’ Offense in 2025: The Power of Bubble Screens
It wasn’t necessarily the way they wanted to end the preseason but in the same vein, it sort of was. The Kansas City Chiefs‘ most important unit, the first-team offense, looked flat-out dominant against the Chicago Bears on Friday night.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, in particular, was fantastic. Playing multiple drives, the two-time MVP winner went 8-for-13 passing with 143 yards and a touchdown. His 124.8 passer rating certainly did his play justice.
It also featured a good combination of “vintage” Mahomes plays and simply taking what the defense gave him. After the game, Mahomes spoke about his performance.
Screen Game May Help Chiefs Unlock Vertical Passes in 2025
Mahomes focused on one element, specifically: the bubble screen. While it seems very run-of-the-mill and is far from a deep-ball connection, he believes it could unlock the offense in 2025-26.
That’s mainly due to the personnel on the receiving end of those passes, primarily wideout Rashee Rice.
“Yeah, it’s just another threat,” Mahomes said. “I mean, Rashee gets those screens like that and he gets 15-20 yards. That kind of crushes a defense when they’re worried about us going deep and then all of a sudden, we’re hitting screens and getting explosive plays, that kind of completes the offense. Having a guy like Rashee and then, I think Xavier [Worthy] can do that stuff, I think [Marquise] Hollywood [Brown] can do that stuff, and then I think [Jalen] Royals can do that stuff. Having a couple guys, a couple versions of guys that can go out there and make those plays happen, it kind of keeps the defense guessing on where we’re attacking on the field.”
It doesn’t hurt that in the midst of sticking to the plan, Mahomes also hit wideout Tyquan Thornton for a 58-yard bomb.
He may be onto something with the screen comment, though. According to Pro Football Focus, 21.3% of his 2024 attempts came behind the line of scrimmage. He completed 92.7% of those tries. His rate of attempts the year before was even higher. Rice, whose sophomore campaign got cut short due to injury, saw a 28% target share behind the line as a rookie. Mahomes had a remarkable 125.7 passer rating when throwing to him on those.
Brown’s behind-the-line rate from 2023 (4.3%) was low, but he’s an excellent short-area (45.7%) maestro. Both Worthy (28.2%) and Royals (21%) capped off their collegiate careers with plenty of catches behind the line and even more between 0-9 yards from it.
The will is certainly there. Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid are no strangers to letting receivers do the work. With everyone now healthy and available, the versatile skill sets can be put to the test.
Kansas City’s Receiving Corps to Open Regular Season at Full Strength?
Branching off the availability point: Mahomes has weapons to throw to. Last year, Brown suffered a sternoclavicular injury during the preseason and didn’t return until late in the campaign. He wasn’t able to adjust on the fly. Rice broke out to start the year, then got taken out on a friendly-fire tackle by Mahomes in Week 4. He missed the rest of the season.
That thrust a then-rookie Worthy into premier action. It placed more of an emphasis on aging tight end Travis Kelce to produce. That wasn’t a great combination. Heck, Royals wasn’t even on the team yet. Heading into Week 1, things are in better shape.
Sure, Brown has already been banged up and missed the preseason due to an ankle injury. With him practicing, though, he came close to being available for Friday’s game. He’s a candidate to play in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Rice, too, should play unless he reaches a suspension agreement with the NFL before then. The Chiefs and the football world anticipate he’ll eventually miss time, but Kansas City likely will open the year firing on all cylinders.
For an offense that hasn’t enjoyed that luxury for a few years, that’s a welcome sight. With a full complement of pass catchers at his disposal and the ability to threaten defenses from even the most boring of areas on the field, Mahomes is rightfully excited.
