Bears LB Alec Ogletree is out to prove he’s like a fine wine, ‘better with age’

LAKE FOREST – Veteran NFL linebacker Alec Ogletree was in Chicago last week to support his former teammate Robert Quinn and Quinn’s sister, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

Olgetree visited Halas Hall with Quinn to watch Camacho-Quinn win an Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles. Olgetree, 29, had previously been in town in May to work out with the Bears, but nothing had ever come of it.

[ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, sister of Bears LB Robert Quinn, wins Olympic gold in 100-meter hurdles ]

The ninth-year NFL veteran played in two games with the New York Jets in 2020, but was released in October. He’s had plenty of time over the last year to contemplate life after football. He has already dabbled in real estate. But all that time, he kept working out.

Before he left Chicago last week, a call came in from his agent.

“My agent called me and asked me where I was at,” Ogletree said. “I said, ‘I’m in Chicago.’ He’s like, ‘Uh, don’t leave. They want to sign you.’”

Within days of signing, Ogletree is now among the Bears’ leaders in training camp interceptions. He has been a magnet for the ball, intercepting a handful of passes in his first four practices.

“It’s been fun,” Ogletree said. “This league’s about production, and if you don’t produce, you can’t stick around. That’s just how it goes. I wanted to come in and, obviously, make some plays. But I wasn’t expecting to make some of the plays that I did.”

The Bears expect to start Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan at inside linebacker when the season begins Sept. 12. But Ogletree provides the type of veteran backup that the Bears lacked a year ago. Anytime Smith or Trevathan was unavailable in 2020, the depth at inside linebacker was tested.

That might not be the case anymore if Ogletree proves he can still play.

“I’m like a good wine,” Ogletree said. “I get better with age.”

[ Bears coach Matt Nagy expects both QBs to see playing time in Saturday’s preseason game ]

Ogletree has started 94 games in his NFL career. He was a first-round draft pick out of Georgia in 2013 and spent his first five seasons with the Rams. He and Quinn were teammates for all five of those seasons. Then Ogletree played two seasons with the Giants in 2018 and 2019 before his brief stint with the Jets last season.

He has 12 career interceptions to his name, along with 12 forced fumbles, 7.5 sacks and 57 passes defended. His interceptions in practice certainly stood out over the weekend.

“What a credit to him to come in here and – we are down some numbers at inside linebacker – and all he is doing is making plays,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy said. “You can’t ask for more than that.”

Ogletree didn’t see this coming when he flew up to Chicago to spend time with Quinn.

“I’ve been working since I left the Jets basically last year,” Ogletree said. “When the opportunity presented itself, I was definitely happy and grateful and I was definitely surprised. I was only expecting to be here for like three days and going back to Georgia and continuing my regimen of training.”

The way he’s playing now, he very well could carve out a role for himself on the Bears’ 53-man roster.