After nearly making a major move to land another stand out pass rusher, the Chicago Bears kept tabs around the league and finally made a move to answer one of the biggest lingering questions on the roster after the preseason.
Following the team's final preseason game on Thursday, the Bears have traded a 2025 sixth round pick for former Seattle Seahawks second-round pick Darrell Taylor, per NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.
The Bears front office and coaching staff made it no secret that the team was looking to add to the defensive line ahead of roster cuts. Rather than waiting for cuts to take place, the Bears acted quick to make a move.
The Seahawks drafted Taylor with the 48th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee. The former Vols defender suffered a leg injury in his final season at Tennessee that caused him to miss his rookie season. Over the following three seasons, Taylor totaled 21.5 sacks in his career, including 5.5 during the 2023 season and 9.5 during the 2022 season.
The Bears have been looking all over for a complement to 2023 Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat off the edge. Rookie fifth-round pick Austin Booker shined during the preseason but the team was still missing some quality depth.
Following the move, Taylor could be in line to split snaps with Booker opposite Sweat while defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker moves inside following defensive tackle Zacch Pickens' injury, essentially solving the team's depth concerns.
Taylor has been buried on the Seahawks roster behind Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Dre’Mont Jones, and Derick Hall at the position and was nearly traded last season. He entered training camp on the roster bubble and never seemed to be a fit for new head coach Mike McDonald's defense. By using a late round pick, the Bears avoided missing out on acquiring Taylor through the waiver wire.
Taylor isn't the big name Bears fans were hoping to see join the locker room after the team was reportedly in on former Pro Bowler Matt Judon . However, Taylor is still a quality player who will benefit from a change of scenery in Chicago playing under head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington.
We'll soon see what Taylor's addition to the roster means for other defensive linemen hoping to survive the cuts such as Jacob Martin, Dominique Robinson, and Daniel Hardy when the team cuts down to 53 players by Tuesday .
Related: Determining who handles punt return duties headlines 3 questions the Bears still need to answer after the preseason
Local Chicago, IL
Most Popular
Comments / 0