The Chicago Bears made two big additions at linebacker, agreeing to contracts with Buffalo Bills two-time Pro Bowler Tremaine Edmunds and former Philadelphia Eagle T.J. Edwards.
Edmunds’ deal is worth $72 million over four years with $50 million guaranteed. Edwards is due $19.5 million over three years, with $12 million guaranteed.
The Bears also added to their offensive line, agreeing to a three-year, $30 million contract with Tennessee guard Nate Davis.
Edmunds gives the Bears the playmaking outside linebacker they’ve been seeking since they dealt Roquan Smith to Baltimore prior to last season’s trade deadline. Chicago made that move after an impasse in contract negotiations.
Edwards had a breakout year for a dominant defense in 2022 that helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl. He led the team with a personal-best 159 tackles from his middle linebacker position and set career highs with 10 tackles for loss and seven passes defended. In the Super Bowl loss to Kansas City, he had six tackles and a pass defended.
Davis, a third-round pick out of Charlotte by Tennessee in 2019, has started 54 games. He ended last season on injured reserve because of an ankle injury.
The Bears have added help on the defensive line, agreeing to a deal with former Tennessee Titans defensive end DeMarcus Walker.
Walker tweeted that he has an agreement in place with Chicago.
Former Seattle Seahawks running back Travis Homer agreed to a two-year deal with Chicago worth as much as $4.5 million, agent Spencer Cannold said Tuesday night.
The Bears announced a two-year contract extension with fullback Khari Blasingame through the 2025 season and a one-year extension with long-snapper Patrick Scales on Tuesday. Offensive lineman Dieter Eiselen — an exclusive rights free agent — signed a one-year deal.
Walker is coming off his best year, with a career-high seven sacks in his lone season with the Titans. He played for Denver from 2017 to 2020 and Houston in 2021.
The Bears sorely needed help on the defensive line after finishing with a league-worst 20 sacks, their lowest total since the 2003 team had 18. A safety — Jaquan Brisker — led them with four sacks, and no lineman had more than three.
Homer has run for 453 yards and one touchdown in four seasons with Seattle. The Seahawks drafted him in the sixth round in 2019.
Blasingame played in 16 games and helped block for a ground attack that led the league with a franchise-record 3,014 yards rushing.
The Bears set a franchise record for losses while finishing with a league-worst 3-14 record. They had one of the worst defenses in the NFL and, on offense, they had big issues in the passing game. But they’ve made some big moves since the end of the season.
The Bears agreed Friday to trade the No. 1 overall pick in the draft to Carolina, two people familiar with the deal said. Chicago addressed a big need for a playmaker to help quarterback Justin Fields by acquiring star receiver D.J. Moore from the Panthers along with the No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in 2023, a first-rounder in 2024 and a second-rounder in 2025.
Chicago also hired Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as team president and purchased a 326-acre plot of land in suburban Arlington Heights that the organization has been sizing up for a new enclosed stadium.
