Bears announce the return of a familiar face on defense that can all but eliminate one position of need in the 2026 NFL Draft
Linebacker Jack Sanborn is coming back to the Chicago Bears in 2026.
The Chicago Bears announced the return of a familiar face on Wednesday. Linebacker Jack Sanborn is rejoining the team after spending the 2025 season with the Dallas Cowboys. An undrafted free agent in 2022, Sanborn spent the first three years of his career in Chicago and now is coming back in 2026.
Sanborn played 48 games with 19 starts for the Bears from 2022-2024 totaling 198 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss. After his contract expired in 2025, Sanborn followed former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus to Dallas after Eberflus was hired as the team’s defensive coordinator. With the Cowboys, Sanborn played six games and made five starts.
Sanborn was one of the first UDFA success stories under general manager Ryan Poles and with the team in need of linebacker depth, it’s not entirely a shock to see this reunion take place. In fact, many fans weren’t happy to see Sanborn leave in the first place.
The Bears linebacker room is starting to come together for the 2026 season
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen made it clear he wanted to overhaul the linebacker position after the 2025 season and add more speed to the position. The first move was releasing starting linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and replacing him with former first-round pick and free agent signee, Devin Bush.
On top of that, the Bears gave D’Marco Jackson a solid pay raise to return after proving he has what it takes to be a solid role player in this scheme. With T.J. Edwards (fractured fibula) and Noah Sewell (torn Achilles) recovering from significant season-ending injuries, adding another player to the mix at the linebacker position was a real consideration.
Instead of forcing that position in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Bears decided to bring Sanborn back as a high-quality depth piece. While he doesn’t know the defensive scheme anymore with Allen now running the unit under head coach Ben Johnson, his instincts on the field will still appeal to the new coaching staff. Also in the room is 2025 fourth-round pick Ruben Hyppolite II, who impressed the team with his speed during the pre-draft process but struggled to carve out a role as a rookie.
The signing of Sanborn now puts the linebacker total to eight in Chicago. I’d be surprised if the Bears added another one to the mix with one of their seven current selections in next month’s draft.
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