Ben Johnson has a chance to snatch DE Za'Darius Smith from Detroit's grasp

Bears general manager Ryan Poles is known for being highly consistent. So it's not a stretch to imagine that he's once again looking to add another pass rusher late in the off-season to elevate the weakest roster unit.

• In August 2023, Poles signed free agent DE Yannick Ngakoue.
• In August 2024, he traded a sixth round pick to the Seahawks for DE Darrell Taylor.

While fourth-year DE Dominique Robinson received positive feedback on his quickness and special teams play during OTAs from Ben, he has a steep uphill battle to make this roster. Robinson has 2.0 career sacks and appeared in only 6 games in 2024.

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's scheme relies heavily on aggression and quick pressure. If the Bears hope to improve upon their 40 sacks from a year ago, they must add a proven edge rusher to provide rotational depth and dial up pressure on late downs.

Trey Hendrickson and J.J. Watt were never in the cards

As training camp inches closer, speculation by some analysts and Bears fans has moved from pipe dream targets to more realistic options.

Conversations ran rampant in May and June whether the Bears should trade for either Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson or Steelers LB T.J. Watt given their contract disputes.

A trade for Hendrickson or Watt was always unrealistic.

1. Poles signed DE Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency to pair opposite Montez Sweat.
2. Poles has consistently stuck to a reluctance to trade away large amounts of future draft capital. The high picks required to land Hendrickson or Watt would hamstring Poles' ability to draft and develop top talent at multiple positions during the next few seasons.
3. Given the Bears are already near their salary cap limit, those trades would require a significant roster move, contract restructuring and/or a very sizeable increase in cash spending to accommodate Hendrickson's or Watt's top tier-of-market salary for multiple years.
4. There's a strong likelihood that the Bears will draft an edge in the first or second round of the 2026 draft.

Several free agent veteran pass rushers are still available

Albert Breer, senior NFL writer for Sports Illustrated, recently predicted that the Bears may look to sign DE Za'Darius Smith or DE Matthew Judon before the season.

Among the veteran pass rushers available, Za'Darius Smith is by far the most attractive choice.

Here's why:

• A three-time Pro Bowler, Smith's 24.5 sacks over the last three seasons is the consistent production Dennis Allen covets.
• His durability is also a big plus. Smith has missed only two games in the last four seasons.
• Ben Johnson is familiar with him from his time in Detroit last season.
• While Breer also mentioned Matthew Judon ─ who Poles made a strong run to trade for last offseason ─ he is coming off a down year with the Falcons.
• Of the four veteran free agent edges, Smith is on the more affordable side in what he may seek next contract.

In addition, per the chart below, Smith racked up more quick pressures last season than Odeyingbo, Judon and Clowney. While Von Miller had slightly more, his age, high salary and injury history doesn't make him as attractive as Smith.

How likely is it that the Bears can land Za'Darius Smith?

The Bears aren't the only suitors for Smith's services. In addition to the Lions who remain interested in bringing him back, there are rumors that the Commanders and Patriots are among other teams in the mix.

Given their playoff performance last season, the Commanders may look to go all-in to push for deep playoff runs on Daniels' rookie contract. Smith would help fill the gap left by DE Dante Fowler who left in free agency.

The Patriots have the most flexibility to get a deal done with $60M in cap room. In addition, Smith has a connection to New England defensive coordinator Terrell Williams who was Smith's defensive line coach with the Lions last season.

The Lions may be the Bears' stiffest competition, though. According to Mike Smith, Lions beat writer for A to Z Sports, Detroit remains interested in resigning Smith for the right price.

"We know that the Lions and Smith have maintained contact since the release went down. The last time Holmes says he spoke with Smith was before the league meetings in early April. Ahead of the draft, Holmes said the Lions had left things in the hands of Smith's agent and that his agent would let Detroit know if something was going on or if things changed. At the BET Awards in early June, Smith told USA Today that he wanted to be back in Detroit."

When asked about when a deal with Detroit might be struck, Smith's response was "soon".

Even so, the Bears still have a fighting chance to land him.

While Smith may prioritize playing for a playoff team from last season at this point in his career, the Bears are heading in that direction. Smith knows that the Bears roster is loaded with talent and what an offense called by Ben Johnson can achieve.

Ben can also be very persuasive in setting out his vision and the important role Smith could play in bringing it to fruition, much like he did to land Bears DT Grady Jarrett.

To do so, the Bears will need to pay Smith eight figures annually and sign him to a minimum two-year deal. Someone of Smith's caliber and age is unlikely to settle for a one-year contract.

This move would be an increased level of commitment over previous seasons on the pass rusher Poles has added late. For what the Bears hope to accomplish this year ─ putting up a winning season and making the playoffs in a highly competitive NFC North ─ Za'Darius Smith is worth the investment.