Ten Chicago Bears with the most to prove in 2024: #6 Tremaine Edmunds

We are marching forward with our 10 Chicago Bears with the most to prove in 2024. So far we’ve highlighted four players with big seasons in front of them. If you missed the first four names and why it’s going to be a critical year for them, you can check out the list here:

10. Zacch Pickens
9. Braxton Jones
8. Gervon Dexter
7. Velus Jones

That brings us to the number six on our list. After signing a four-year, $72 million contract in March of 2023, Tremaine Edmunds didn’t quite live up to his contract. In 2024, he must prove to the front office and the fans that he was worth the investment.

When the Bears signed Tremaine Edmunds to a 4-year, $72 million contract in March of 2023, many Bears fans were left scratching their heads.

Why would they allocate this money to Tremaine Edmunds rather than give it to Roquan Smith? The Bears explained (through the media) that they felt Edmunds’ size would be more what Matt Eberflus would want in the middle of the field on passing downs and that Edmunds was, in general, a better fit for this defense.

Regardless of the reason, Edmunds had big shoes to fill and his performance in 2023 didn’t live up to expectations.

Edmunds was saved by the fact that TJ Edwards wildly exceeded his expectations which allowed Edmunds pedestrian play to pair nicely with Edwards and make for a solid linebacking duo. With Jack Sanborn coming onto the field for base packages, the Bears had a solid group of linebackers, but Edmunds was supposed to make them something special, not just something solid.

If you look at Edmunds’ statistics, they look solid. 113 tackles and 4 interceptions (including a pick-six) certainly doesn’t look like a person that needs to improve their play, but box scores can be deceiving for linebackers.

How effective were those 113 tackles for Edmunds? Edmunds was 6th on the Bears in Tackles for Loss with 5, and he only had one more than Montez Sweat who only played half the season in Chicago. Edmunds’ 5 TFLs tied him for 176th place in the NFL.

Also of note, Sanborn, who the Bears could have had in Edmunds position for 1/18th the salary, finished with 7 TFLs.

How did Edmunds do on stops? Stops are tackles that constitute a failed play on the offense. TJ Edwards finished 12th in the NFL with 35 stops. Edmunds finished 97th in the NFL with 20 stops. If you go by stop% (stops per snap, minimum 250 total snaps), Edwards falls to 17th place, and Edmunds sits much further down at 81st place.

In short, Edmunds let the plays come to him last year, but he didn’t impact the game. In fact, of Edmunds’ four interceptions, three of them were deflections where the ball came right to him, and the other was off Jared Goff, whose arm was hit as he threw, and the ball went right to Edmunds. None of Edmunds’ interceptions were due to anticipating a throw and stepping into a throwing lane, every play came to him.

Edmunds wasn’t awful, he just wasn’t elite, which is what the Chicago Bears paid him to be. He was pedestrian. He was no better than Jack Sanborn’s 2023 performance. If the Bears had gone with Sanborn, they could have saved Edmunds’ contract and allocated that money to another position of need (like offensive or defensive line).

Edmunds contract was originally guaranteed for roughly two years, but because he’s still on the roster, more guaranteed money kicked in which guaranteed the third year of his four-year contract.

Edmunds is going to be here in 2024, and he’s going to be here in 2025. Releasing him after this season would give the Bears just a couple of million in cap relief. But Edmunds has dug himself a hole. He’s going to have to have an excellent season not just in 2024 but in 2025 as well if the Bears are going to justify keeping him here in 2026 (or potentially extending him).

Edmunds wasn’t brought here to just be another piece on this defense. If they were looking for that level of production, they would have gone with Sanborn. Edmunds was brought it to be that elite off-ball linebacker who stars in a Matt Eberflus scheme. He wasn’t it last year, it’s time for Edmunds to prove that he was worth the contract the Bears gave him and become that player. If he fails to do so, Edmunds’ seat in 2025 will be sizzling.