The Bears have plenty of uncertainty around their roster, but T.J. Edwards isn’t part of that conversation.
Chicago locked him in last April on a two-year, $20 million extension that keeps him under contract through the 2027 season, a clear sign the team already knows what it has in the veteran linebacker.
Edwards’ road to that point started the hard way. He went undrafted in 2019, then signed a three-year deal with the Eagles and carved out a role there on special teams and as a backup.
He eventually won the starting linebacker job for the 2020 season, though a hamstring injury limited him to 12 games. Even in that shortened year, he made a splash in Week 5 by blocking a punt and earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
After the Eagles’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, Edwards hit free agency. The Bears moved quickly, signing him to a three-year deal just weeks later.
Since arriving in Chicago, Edwards has become a central piece of the defense. He landed with Ryan Poles only recently in charge as general manager and with the Matt Eberflus era just getting started, but he wasted no time making himself indispensable.
Edwards played all 17 games and piled up 155 total tackles, including 91 solo stops. Tremaine Edmunds was next on the team with 113 total tackles and 69 solo tackles.
He stayed durable the next season too, appearing in all 17 games again and finishing just one tackle behind Kevin Byard for the team lead with 129 total tackles. That season, though, ended badly for the Bears, who fired their first head coach during the season.
Then came 2025, along with Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen. Chicago’s direction changed under Johnson, but Edwards’ year was interrupted by a broken hand and a hamstring issue that limited him to 10 games. Even so, he still produced 67 total tackles and added an interception return for a touchdown, the only touchdown of his career to this point.
Now healthy and settled into Allen’s system, Edwards is in position to get back to the level that earned him those big contracts in the first place. The Bears still have to figure out who lines up next to him in September, but Edwards should be a steady presence throughout training camp. As a starter with seven seasons behind him and 30 years old on the clock, preseason reps are unlikely to matter much to him.
Chicago may not have all the answers at linebacker yet, but it knows exactly what Edwards brings when he’s right. After a frustrating 2025, he has a chance to remind the Bears why they committed to him through 2027.
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