The 2025 Chicago Bears season was one for the ages.
Chicago took a major step in head coach Ben Johnson’s first season. The team elevated itself to one of the best in the NFL after finishing 5-12 the previous year. It resulted in the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2020, first NFC North title since 2018 and first playoff win since the 2010 playoffs.
The Bears did it in dramatic fashion, too. They had seven comeback wins after they trailed with two minutes left in the game, earning themselves the “Cardiac Bears” nickname.
Chicago will now try to build off of a great season. Bears general manager Ryan Poles and Johnson will need to make some tough roster decisions this offseason as the Bears try to take another step closer to being Super Bowl contenders next year.
Over the next few weeks, Shaw Local will evaluate how each position group did over the past season and start looking toward the offseason. Here’s a look at the linebacker room.
Linebackers
Returning players: Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell, Ruben Hyppolite, Amen Ogbongbemiga, Dominique Hampton, Nephi Sewell
Free agents: D’Marco Jackson, Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Looking back: Injuries hit the cornerback room the hardest on the Bears roster this season. But the linebacker room wasn’t far behind in terms of severity.
It started with Edwards, who had played in all 34 games during his first two seasons with the Bears. Edwards missed three of the first four games with a hamstring injury before he missed four games midway through the year with a broken hand. He made an impact when he did play, finishing with 67 tackles and one interception.
That injury came as Edmunds played at a high level as he moved over to the weakside linebacker spot. Edmunds used his speed and length to intercept four passes, which tied a career-high, and finish with 76 tackles during the first 10 games of the year. But Edmunds missed four games toward the end of the season because of a groin injury that slowed him down when he did return for the stretch run.
Noah Sewell stepped up in Edwards’ absence and played well after dealing with injuries during his first two seasons. He had 59 tackles in 13 games this season before he suffered an Achilles injury in Week 17.
Those injuries presented players like Jackson, Ogbongbemiga and Hyppolite with opportunities, especially in November when Edmunds, Edwards and Sewell all missed two games. Jackson had a career-high 59 tackles and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after the Bears’ win over the Cleveland Browns in December. Ogbongbemiga had 14 tackles against the Pittsburgh Steelers in November.
Despite the different injuries, Hyppolite couldn’t a way to the field often during his rookie season. He appeared in seven games and had six tackles as he battled some injuries but mostly a healthy scratch when he didn’t play.
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What’s next: On paper, the linebacker room seems mostly set for next season. But salary cap issues could force the Bears to make some tough decisions.
All three of the Bears starters are under contract for the upcoming season. Edmunds and Sewell each have one year left on their deals, while Edwards will start his two-year contract extension. But that doesn’t mean all three will be back.
Chicago is in need of salary cap space. Although the salary cap is expected to go up a good amount once again this offseason, the Bears will be forced to make some moves to clear up cap space in order to improve other parts of the roster.
Edmunds might be one of those cap causalities despite his better play this season. He has the Bears’ eighth-highest cap hit in 2026 at roughly $17.4 million after he signed a four-year, $72 million contract in 2023. But Edmunds would only have a $2.4 million dead cap hit if the Bears decided to move on from him this offseason.
It might be the lone significant cost-saving move Poles could make in the room. The Bears would unlikely try to move on from either Edwards or Noah Sewell. Chicago signed Edwards to an extension last offseason, while Sewell only carries a $1.2 million cap hit.
Poles is likely to use one of his higher draft picks to draft a linebacker who can either make an impact this season or down the road. He might also be interested in bringing back Jackson after a good season as Sewell recovers from his injury.
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