Matt Eberflus explains how Tremaine Edmunds fits into Bears defense
Matt Eberflus will have a new quarterback for his defense in 2023. Tremaine Edmunds received a four-year, $72 million deal with the Chicago Bears, with $50M guaranteed. Javon Hargrave is the only defensive player to receive a higher annual salary than Edmunds this offseason. On Tuesday, Eberflus announced that his high-priced addition will indeed man […]
Matt Eberflus will have a new quarterback for his defense in 2023.
Tremaine Edmunds received a four-year, $72 million deal with the Chicago Bears, with $50M guaranteed. Javon Hargrave is the only defensive player to receive a higher annual salary than Edmunds this offseason.
On Tuesday, Eberflus announced that his high-priced addition will indeed man the MIKE linebacker spot.
The Mike LB, or middle linebacker, is essentially the QB of a 4-3 defense. Edmunds will be responsible for calling the plays and leading the defense.
Edmunds played the Mike in Buffalo for the Bills and produced elite results. The star linebacker earned a 79.0 PFF grade in 2022 and collected 102 tackles and one interception.
Fellow new addition TJ Edwards was also in the running for the Mike LB spot, but will now likely slide into the weakside spot.
However you line them up, this Bears' linebacker group is already much-improved over the 2022 unit. In 2022, the team relied on Nicholas Morrow to man the spot. Morrow left much to be desired, and the Bears sported the second-worst rush defense in the league.
In addition to Edwards and Edmunds, defensive tackle Andrew Billings was brought in to anchor the defensive line. Billings is highiy-touted for his run stuffing abilities and earned a 76.4 PFF grade in 2022.
Improving the run defense has clearly been a priority for Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. It will be interesting to see if the team adds another face to a new-look defense in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
