HEADLINE

Reports: Bears splash with LB upgrades, agree to deal with OG Nate Davis

Field Level Media

March 13, 2023 at 8:25 pm.

The offseason overhaul of the Chicago Bears shifted gears on Monday, with linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards agreeing to contracts along with offensive guard Nate Davis, according to reports.

Edmunds, 24, can earn $72 million over four years with $50 million guaranteed at signing, ESPN reported.

Davis’ deal is worth up to $30 million with $19.25 million guaranteed over three years.

NFL Network and ESPN reported the deal for Edwards includes $12.5 million in total guarantees and is worth a total of $19.5 million. Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham helped bring Edwards to the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

Free agent contracts with new teams are not official until the new league year begins on Wednesday.

Edmunds had five 100-tackle seasons with the Buffalo Bills, who drafted him 16th overall in the 2018 draft. Edmunds was coveted in free agency, and the Bills are facing a tight salary cap after spending big last offseason to lock up quarterback Josh Allen and adding pass rusher Von Miller.

Edwards, 26, was one of the top coverage linebackers in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He finished seventh in the NFL with 159 total tackles in 2022, which was the second-most in franchise history behind Byron Evans (175) in 1992.

Davis was a third-round pick of the Titans and started 54 games in four seasons.

The Eagles are likely to elevate 2022 third-rounder Nakobe Dean to fill Edwards’ starting role.

Edwards’ high school football field is 20 minutes northwest of the Bears’ Halas Hall practice facility, and he’d join another former Wisconsin linebacker in Chicago. Jack Sanborn was a freshman for the Badgers when Edwards was a senior.