Heading into the 2026 offseason, the biggest concern people had with the Chicago Bears was the lack of pass rush on the defensive side of the ball.

After kicking the tires on a Maxx Crosby trade or drafting a top edge rusher in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Bears essentially did nothing to improve the defensive end position throughout the entire offseason.

Instead, head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen prioritized improving the overall defensive speed in the back-seven, hoping the improved coverage would give the pass rush more time to hit home. The Bears are also hoping to have better coaching with that pass rush group going into Year 2 under this scheme.

“When we talk about the pass rush, one of the things we talked about, it gets back to the fundamentals and how we teach those things,” Allen told reporters on Saturday. “We lost some of that because we were so focused on the scheme. That totally falls on me.”

It doesn’t sound like the Chicago Bears plan to invest more in the DE position going into 2026 season

Allen’s explanation aligns similarly with what Johnson said following the draft when asked about not addresses the DE position. The staff’s argument is that the pieces are there, they just need to be coached better and have the players actually stay healthy.

“I think if we do a better job of the fundamentals and the techniques of doing those things that we’re going to ask them to do, that we’ll get better at that,” Allen added. “I think we’ll see our pass rush improve in terms of our guys just rushing as one unit. There was a lot of times where we had really good rush, but we weren’t quite as good on this side so it allowed the quarterback to step up into a lane. That’s an area I think we can improve on and I think our guys, when they did it right, it was pretty impressive.”

At the position, the Bears currently have Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Shemar Turner as the top edge rushers on the roster. General manager Ryan Poles said he’s always looking out for ways to improve the roster, but it doesn’t sound like the team will invest more into that position anytime soon.

Dennis Allen downplays the idea of adding free agent veteran Cam Jordan to the room

One popular name fans have been discussing about adding to the DE room since the draft ended is Cam Jordan, the eight-time Pro Bowl selection that spent years under Allen with the New Orleans Saints. Jordan is coming off a 10.5-sack season at age 36 and still awaiting an opportunity on the free agent market. However, Allen downplayed that idea, but didn’t fully close the door.

“I think my experience with him was outstanding,” Allen said of Jordan. “Cam’s going to be a Hall of Fame player, he is a Hall of Fame player. I don’t know that there’s been a ton of discussion about that. I think we feel pretty good about where we’re at and what we have. And yet, you never know what opportunities might present themselves some point down the road.”

The team doesn’t appear poised to make any additions at the position. The staff first would like to get everyone back and start honing in on the fundamentals and coaching to see if that fixes things. If we get to training camp and things still aren’t clicking for that group, then perhaps the front office could explore adding a vet like Jordan.