Chicago Bears land Devin Bush in NFL Free Agency: What it means for the team
Bears miss out on DE Maxx Crosby, NFL free agency frenzy | Chicago Sports Tonight
On this edition of Chicago Sports Tonight on Sunday, FOX Chicago Sport Anchor Tina Nguyen is joined by The Score’s Laurence Holmes and Mark Grote as they discuss who the Bears should pivot to after missing out on Maxx Crosby, DJ Moore being traded to the Bills, center Drew Dalman’s sudden retirement, DePaul hoops earning the No 6 seed in the Big East Tournament, World Baseball Classic, and White Sox Shane Smith named Opening Day starter.
After the Chicago Bears moved on from Tremaine Edmunds, they were in the market for a linebacker.
On Monday, they landed Devin Bush, according to ESPN. Bush was the best off-ball linebacker on the free agent market and will command $21 million guaranteed from the Bears.
Here's what his signing means for the team:
What we know:
When Devin Bush left Seattle, there was a chance he was an afterthought.
After a 125-tackle, two-pick-six and two forced fumble season, the former No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft put himself back on the map and cashed in on a massive payday.
Bush had over 100 tackles on the season for the first time since his rookie season in Pittsburgh. His time in Cleveland showed that he has the speed in the middle to be an effective player. Now, as Edmunds' replacement in the middle, the Bears land one of the top five free agent linebackers.
Back in April 2025, Bears' Assistant Director of College Scouting Francis Saint Paul said that Bears' defensive coordinator Dennis Allen covets linebackers that are fast and tough. Bush qualifies in the speed category, and has shown the toughness needed to compete at the NFL level while also clawing for a role on a team.
This signing is even more important considering the Bears' linebackers heading into the 2026 season will be Noah Sewell, Ruben Hyppolite, D'Marco Jackson and TJ Edwards. Edwards is recovering from a broken fibula suffered late in the season, and plays the MIKE linebacker position. That means Edwards makes the defensive calls.
Sewell would have been in line to take snaps as the SAM linebacker, or the off-ball linebacker. However, it remains to be seen how long is recovery from an Achilles injury will take.
"I think Noah was one of those physical players. I thought he helped us, in particular when we got into some of our regular packages as a SAM linebacker guy that can go set the edge," Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said on Jan. 1. "You hate to see a young developing player go down because he's still in that developmental stage of his career and so you feel for a guy like that, that's going to lose some of that developmental time."
Sewell could return next season as part of the Bears' defensive rotation once he clears all the rehabilitation markers.
For now, Bush will step into that SAM role after a 2025 season where he was disruptive. Allowing Bush to be a playmaker could unlock another level of production for the 27-year-old linebacker who has a plethora of NFL experience.
What's next:
Now, with top safety and linebacker spots filled for 2026, we assume the Bears will pivot to fill the void at left tackle at some point.
It's assumed the Bears will target former Lions left tackle Taylor Decker, who performed well in Ben Johnson's offense when Johnson was the Lions' offensive coordinator.
Whatever direction the Bears opt to pursue at left tackle, the decision will become clear soon now that Poles has filled the biggest voids created with cap decisions this offseason.