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By Megan Armstrong
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The Chicago Bears enjoyed a magical season in 2025. Head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams' first year together resulted in the Bears' first NFC North title since 2018 and defeating their rival Green Bay Packers in two thrillers — once in the NFC Wild Card round. The Bears' joy ride ended in an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round.
And the come-from-behind nature of the Bears' games in the final month of the season underscored what they must do to remain NFC contenders in 2026: Shore up the defense.
Surprisingly, the first domino might be Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who is entering the final year on the four-year, $78 million contract he signed with Chicago in 2023.
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According to The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, "The Bears have granted permission for linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to seek a trade, according to a league source. He's under contract for the '26 season at $15 million. Still young and was [a] Pro Bowl-caliber player [through] the first 10 games before a minor injury.[He] finished the year healthy. Led D in tackles."
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ESPN's Courtney Cronin confirmed Biggs' report, noting, "If Edmunds does not find a trade partner, he is in line to become a cap casualty. Releasing Edmunds would create $15 million in salary cap space for Chicago."
As Biggs alluded to, Edmunds played in 13 of 17 regular-season games for the Bears due to a groin injury suffered against Minnesota in Week 11. At the time, Edmunds' four interceptions were tied for the most in the NFL. Edmunds finished the regular season with a team-leading 112 total tackles, including 61 solo tackles.
The Bears led the NFL with 22 turnovers last season. It's traditionally very difficult, if not impossible, to replicate turnover production year to year, and the Bears will likely have a new cast of characters trying to do so.
Chicago has 23 players set to become unrestricted free agents, including safety Kevin Byard, safety Jaquan Brisker, safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and cornerback Nahshon Wright. Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions, with Wright right behind him at 5.
As for Edmunds, his overall tenure with the Bears fell short of expectations when he signed. Both of his Pro Bowl seasons came with the Buffalo Bills (2019 and 2020), which drafted him at No. 16 overall out of Virginia Tech in the 2018 NFL Draft. The good news for the soon-to-be 28-year-old is that his impactful and impressive 2025 campaign showed prospective teams that he's still capable of performing at a high level.
NFL free agency officially begins on March 11 at 4 p.m. EST.
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