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Shaw Local is counting down the top 25 most important Bears for the 2023 season.
What makes one player more important than another? That’s subjective, of course. But for our purposes it comes down to this: Are the Bears worse off if this player can’t play? Does this player have untapped potential or past greatness to live up to? Is his story going to be one fans follow closely this season?
The best player on the team isn’t always the most important, but he certainly can be. We will announce one player every day between now and the start of training camp.
No. 12 T.J. Edwards
Position: Linebacker
NFL experience: Fifth season
Last year’s ranking: N/A
Looking back: The Bears went into last season hoping to sign star linebacker Roquan Smith to a monster extension that would’ve kept him in Chicago for the next handful of years. Instead, the two sides – with Smith serving as his own agent – couldn’t come to an agreement. Bears general manager Ryan Poles traded Smith at the trade deadline to Baltimore in exchange for second- and fifth-round draft picks.
After the trade, the Bears had one of the worst linebacker groups in the NFL. Nicholas Morrow stayed healthy for 17 games and led the team in tackles, but made few game-altering plays on the football. Jack Sanborn stepped up and played well for an undrafted rookie, but still has much to prove.
That’s why the Bears significantly upgraded the linebacker position by signing veterans Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards in free agency.
Looking forward: A Lake Villa native, Edwards went from undrafted to star linebacker over his four years with the Eagles. Last season, he led Philadelphia in tackles and received All-Pro votes. The Bears signed him to a three-year contract worth up to $19.5 million in March. Matt Eberflus’ defense now has an elite duo with Edwards and Edmunds at linebacker.
Edwards was a leader in Philadelphia. He handled communication for the Eagles’ defense, wearing the green dot, on the way to a Super Bowl appearance. Edwards might go down as one of the best bargains of the entire 2023 free agent class across the league. He’s an elite run defender who hardly ever seems to be phased by play action or misdirection. He’s also highly effective in coverage and extremely quick to diagnose what is happening in front of him.
A much-improved linebacker-group may or may not give the Bears’ defense an elite-level ceiling, but it will certainly elevate the floor for what this defense can be in 2023. That’s the hope anyway. Eberflus’ 4-3 scheme is still missing an elite edge rusher, but adding linebackers like Edwards and Edmunds should improve the run defense significantly. Edwards could be a big reason why this defense takes a major step forward in 2023.
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