One Week into the Caleb Era, 5th Year Options, Why Ngakoue? And Other Bears Bullets

May 03, 2024

The Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef continues to chew up my timeline. Thankfully, I have Bears thoughts to distract me from two artists I like lyrically going at each other’s throats.

We are one week into the Caleb Williams era. How are you feeling? This is a question I’m genuinely asking. I’ll probably ask on Twitter and Facebook, too. I really want to know. Where are you as a Bears fan right now? Consider this a check-in.

This is my own check-in: I feel as if I am in a better place now than I was before the NFL Draft. Stepping back and looking at the big picture brings a smile to my face. This Bears offense has weapons on the outside (Moore, Keenan, Odunze), multiple options in the backfield (Swift, Herbert, Roschon), a quality tight end tandem with two viable starters (Kmet, Everett), and offensive line depth behind the starters (Bates, Amegadjie, Pryor, Curhan). If Caleb Williams and play caller Shane Waldron are the upgrades they project to be, then this could be the most fun-to-watch Bears offense since Year 1 of Marc Trestman.

I know, I know. Mentioning Marc Trestman is grounds for putting $5 in the swear jar. But the mention is worth it to drive home that the Bears have done so poorly in building worthwhile offenses that we have to go back 10 years for a call-back. It’s been ugly. But Bears GM Ryan Poles is right — the time for change is now.

Transitioning from “change is good” to pitching the idea of the Bears running it back with Yannick Ngakoue isn’t going to be smooth. But here we are, so deal with it. I know some folks will push back hard, but I don’t think those folks are thinking this through. The way I see it: The Bears don’t need Yannick Ngakoue to be a tone-setting, game-wrecking defensive end. They have that guy in Montez Sweat. What these Bears would be asking from Ngakoue is to be a complimentary player and a strong veteran presence. Be you. Don’t be something you’re not. It’s that simple. Please don’t overthink it.

Notable: Ngakoue had 2 sacks, 2 tackles-for-loss, and 3 quarterback hits in five games playing alongside Sweat before the injury. That comes out to a 17-game pace of 7 sacks, 7 tackles-for-loss, and 10 quarterback hits.

Of course, it doesn’t *HAVE* to be Ngakoue. There are other free agents who are worth exploring for that role. We’ll discuss some of those names later because that feels like a conversation that should go beyond a mention in Bullets.

As I check in on the other side of the ball, I’ll say this: I like where this defense is now compared to where it was at the end of the 2022 season. It isn’t quite where I want it to be just yet. But there is no denying that the Bears have a playmaker at each level of the defense with Montez Sweat and T.J. Edwards anchoring the front seven, while Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, and Jaquan Brisker hold it down on the back end. I’m curious to see how new safety Kevin Byard fits in the grand scheme of things.

bears de montez sweat — (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Trading away Justin Fields in March meant the Bears streak of not having to make a fifth-year option decision on a player continued. The team hasn’t had to travel down this road since Mitchell Trubisky in 2020. But that isn’t stopping me from keeping tabs on ESPN’s fifth-year option tracker. Seeing Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones get their fifth-year options declined should serve as a reminder that there are no guarantees at quarterback — even the first-rounders.

The Bears are so set at receiver that DJ Chark signing with the L.A. Chargers (h/t NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport) doesn’t even register with Bears fans. Chark was championed as a key signing for the Carolina Panthers’ plans to build around Bryce Young. But Chark finished with just 35 catches, 525 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns in 15 games. Hardly the game-changer Panthers fans were chirping about last year. I’ll be careful to not hurt anything as I pat myself on the back for this, but I tried warning folks. You tend to pick up on things when you’ve seen the Bears try to pitch you on stop-gap wideouts as much as they have over the years.

As I was typing up the previous Bullet to round out this set, news of Odell Beckham Jr.’s signing dropped. NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero has it as a one-year deal worth up to $8.25 million for OBJ. He’ll join a loaded group of offensive weapons on South Beach.

HAPPY FRIDAY! The Bleacher Nation Newsletter

Who are some potential buy-low Chicago Blackhawks trade targets? Tab has some answers for you over at BN Blackhawks.

The updated Baseball America Top-100 is loaded with Cubs. After watching the Cubs go 3-4 on their most recent road trip, I needed that bit of good news.

Over in the NBA Playoffs, the New York Knicks eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. There will be no Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Bummer. I’ve struggled to get into the NBA this year. And while the Bulls being who they are is part of it, it isn’t even the main reason. Following basketball (pro and college, for that matter) has been a disjointed experience for me. I watch the big primetime games and even took the free NBA League Pass trial for a run. And yet, I come away from watching basketball this year with this thought that I wrote down: “I know I should be feeling something, but I feel nothing. What gives?”

Thanks for hearing me out, friends. Have a wonderful Friday and weekend.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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