Bears 2022 free agency: Who is available at edge rusher?

After two days of big-time quarterback news across the NFL, the Bears stole the league’s collective attention Thursday when general manager Ryan Poles agreed to a trade that will send Pro Bowl pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers.

With one swift move, everything changed for the Bears at edge rusher. What seemed like the team’s most stable position is now up in the air.

For now, Robert Quinn remains on the team, fresh off setting the Bears’ single-season sack record. The team appears much more likely now to jump into the free agent fray at edge rusher than it did 24 hours ago.

With the move, the Bears now have about $29 million in salary cap space available for 2022.

Top available edge rushers

Von Miller: The Rams paid a big price to grab Miller in the trade market. Now he will be a hot commodity in free agency. Don’t rule out a return to Denver now that the Broncos have Russell Wilson at quarterback. He had 9.5 sacks last season, plus 19 tackles for loss.

Chandler Jones: Jones bounced back from a bicep injury in 2020 and finished last season with 10.5 sacks. Outside of his injured 2020 season, when he played in only five games, Jones had double-digit sacks in every season since 2015.

Jadeveon Clowney: Following a rough 2019 and an even worse 2020, Clowney rehabilitated his image in 2021 with nine sacks in 14 games as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Haason Reddick: Reddick had 11 sacks in 2021 with the Panthers and 12.5 with the Cardinals the year before. He’s in his prime, too. He’ll turn 28 next September.

Under-the-radar values

It’s worth noting that edge rushers don’t come cheap. Many of these players will command a hefty amount of money.

It’s hard to say what the market will be for Jason Pierre-Paul. He had only 2.5 sacks in 12 games last season for the Bucs. Somebody will probably pay him big money anyway because of his track record. Justin Houston is probably on the backside of his career, which means he won’t command top dollar. His 4.5 sacks in 15 games last season aren’t stellar, but his 17 QB hits might be more telling than his sack total. The Cowboys’ Randy Gregory is coming off a year in which he had six sacks in 12 games. His biggest issue has been remaining healthy. Emmanuel Ogbah had nine sacks in each of the last two seasons with Miami. Melvin Ingram had only two sacks last season, but he hit the quarterback 11 times.

Bears’ level of need

Before the Mack trade, it was very low. Now, things have changed. The Bears need a pass rusher to pair with Quinn. The trade created cap space, but most of the savings come in 2023 and 2024. It freed up only an additional $6 million in 2022.

Backup edge rusher Jeremiah Attaochu is under contract for one more season, although he is coming off a pectoral injury. Third-year pro Trevis Gipson has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract.

[ Shaw Local’s 2021 Bears report card: Edge rusher ]

Best fits for the Bears

The Bears traded Mack in order to get out of his contract. Given that, they’re probably not going to spend big on one of the top pass rushers. That might change a year from now when they have $121 million in available cap space ahead of the 2023 season.

But for now, look for them to settle for somebody in that second tier or ride out next season with Gipson as the starter and a cheap backup or late-round draft pick behind him.

If they can sign a veteran like Justin Houston, who flourished in Matt Eberflus’ system in 2019 and 2020, on a one-year deal, that would be a great scenario for 2022. The Ravens paid him only $2 million last season.