Tremaine Edmunds
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Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears will focus on retooling one of the NFL’s worst defenses this offseason, a process likely to begin with a little bit of pain across the roster.
Chicago is currently $5.3 million over the salary cap for 2026, not including the draft picks the team will need to pay. The Bears currently hold seven selections in total.
The franchise is also looking for help on the interior of the defensive line and for a pass-rusher off the edge. The Bears’ No. 25 pick is high enough to reasonably expect that the player they select there can step into one of those slots as a productive starter with relative immediacy.
But the other hole, liable to be the edge-rusher spot considering several of the best in the 2026 class will already be off the board by the late first round, is going to cost. And if Chicago wants to pay for a free agent like Trey Hendrickson or trade for a superstar like Maxx Crosby, the team is going to need to make some cuts.
Two-time Pro Bowler and starting linebacker/team captain Tremaine Edmunds tops the list of cut candidates in the Windy City given the sheer magnitude of savings releasing him this spring will provide.
Edmunds is on the final season of a four-year, $72 million contract that carries a cap hit of $17.5 million in 2026. The Bears can save $15 million by cutting the LB loose while incurring just a $2.5 million dead cap hit.
Tremaine Edmunds Now Overpaid Based on Age, Production
Tremaine Edmunds, Bears
GettyLinebacker Tremaine Edmunds of the Chicago Bears.
Edmunds remained an above-average run defender from the position in 2025, but his skills as a pass-rusher and in coverage were below the median, according to Pro Football Focus.
He still matters for Chicago when it comes to matching up with opposing tight ends in the pass game, but if the Bears can find 80-90 percent of the same skill set in a mid-round rookie or a bargain bin free agent at a far less expensive price, it’s a move worth seriously considering.
“For a team that is currently over the cap, no player has a cleaner ‘out’ in his contract than Edmunds,” Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic wrote Monday, February 16. “No one on the roster can seamlessly step into his role. The Bears do have some simple restructures they can do to create a bunch of cap space, but it might still be necessary.”
Edmunds also battled injury concerns last year, missing four games during the regular season.
Chicago could acquire the same savings by trading Edmunds, though the market for him at the age of 28 and with a base salary of $13.9 million in 2026 may prove minimal. And if Edmunds doesn’t have trade value at that number, then it doesn’t make sense for the Bears to keep him at a cap hit more than $3.5 million higher.
Bears Will Struggle to Sign Elite Pass-Rusher Without Cutting Tremaine Edmunds
Maxx Crosby Klint Kubiak Bears News Bears Trade Maxx Crosby Bears
GettyLas Vegas Raiders pass-rusher Maxx Crosby.
More than holding onto a good, but not great, inside linebacker, the Bears simply must improve a pass rush defined by 35 total sacks and the second-worst win rate in the league last season.
Hendrickson is liable to cost north of $25 million annually over a two- or three-year deal. Meanwhile, Crosby is under contract through 2029 after inking a three-year extension with the Las Vegas Raiders worth $106.5 million.
Beyond restructuring certain contracts, Edmunds can offer Chicago more cap relief via a cut than any other player potentially on the chopping block. Thus, while the Bears might prefer to keep him, Edmunds is a luxury with which the team can afford to part.