Bears underrated free agent signing could be the one to hold off another veteran addition before training camp
Much has been made about the offseason that has taken place over the past few months for the Chicago Bears.Ryan Poles and the team's front office has done a tremendous job overhauling the roster and the results have already shown on the field during practice before the season's even started.While all of the talks have […]
Much has been made about the offseason that has taken place over the past few months for the Chicago Bears.
Ryan Poles and the team's front office has done a tremendous job overhauling the roster and the results have already shown on the field during practice before the season's even started.
While all of the talks have been surrounding new stars such as quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, one free agent pick up in particular has been quietly turning some heads during OTAs and minicamp.
That player is defensive end Jake Martin. The Bears agreed to terms with the veteran pass rusher back in March and since then, he's been rising up the depth chart at the position, and one the Bears have been rumored to be interested in upgrading.
However, as we get closer and closer to the start of training camp at Halas Hall, rumblings of another veteran addition off the edge have started to simmer down. Martin might be the reason why that's the case.
The Bears already have two players who will enter training camp as the established starters off the edge in Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker, with fifth-round rookie Austin Booker continuing to develop behind those two.
After Booker, the next spot on the depth chart at the position is up for grabs, which led people to consider Yannick Ngakoue or Emmanuel Ogbah as potential fits for the Bears on the open market. After arriving during mandatory minicamp for the first time this offseason, Sweat weighed in on the state of the position.
"We're trying to pick up with where we left off last year," Sweat explained. "We lost two great guys up-front but we got some young guys really stepping up and an experienced guy like Jake Martin is really making some noise out there. So, I'm pretty excited with what I'm seeing."
Clearly, Martin already has one fan inside the locker room. If he continues to make even more noise during training camp, he won't just hold off another addition he might just find himself earning a spot on the 53-man roster.
Martin last played for the Indianapolis Colts during the 2023 season, where he appeared in 17 games recording 2.0 sacks and three QB hits off the bench. Having Martin and Booker rotating off the edge behind Sweat and Walker could be more than enough for head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington to work with during the upcoming season.
Three players who hurt their stock the most during the Chicago Bears’ mandatory minicamp
They’ll need to step it up.
