The Chicago Bears are in desperate need of another pass rusher to put alongside of Montez Sweat, and the New England Patriots may have the answer for them.
The Patriots could end up trading edge rusher Matthew Judon, who has been holding in at training camp and exited the field after a confrontation with head coach Jerod Mayo on Monday.
Judon is preparing to enter the final year of his deal, and while he has been present at New England’s camp, he isn’t practicing unless his contract situation is sorted out.
Given the fact that the aging Judon doesn’t really fit the Pats’ timeline any longer, the best course of action for the Patriots may be to trade him.
In the event of a Judon trade, the Bears represent a logical landing spot, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox has named them one of the top potential destinations for the four-time Pro Bowler.
Not only does Chicago have enough cap space to absorb Judon’s $6.5 million base salary this season, but it is also slated to have in the neighborhood of $60 million in cap space next year, so the Bears can also afford to extend Judon if they so please.
The Bears’ pass rush is a major area of weakness
Not enough people are talking about the Bears’ pass rush for 2024.
Chicago finished 31st in the NFL with just 30 sacks last season, and its second and third-leading sack-getters—Yannick Ngakoue and Jonathan Jones—are no longer with the club.
The Bears do have the aforementioned Sweat, who they acquired in a midseason trade with the Washington Commanders last October, but outside of that, they don’t have much proven talent in that area.
Judon would quickly change that.
The 32-year-old only played in four games last season due to a torn bicep, but when he was on the field, he was productive, logging 13 tackles and four sacks.
Judon was one of the best pass rushers in football the prior two seasons, racking up 12.5 and 15.5 sacks, respectively, with the Patriots in 2021 and 2022.
The Grand Valley State product spent the first five years of his career with the Baltimore Ravens before signing with New England in 2021. He made four straight trips to the Pro Bowl between 2019 and 2022.
We’ll see if the Bears make a move for the star defender before the regular season.
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