As training camps get rolling, the Chicago Bears have plenty of noise around Caleb Williams and the offense. But the real headache still sits on the other side of the ball, where the pass rush remains under the microscope.
That’s why a quiet retirement in Detroit matters. Former Lions defensive end Pat O'Connor has announced his retirement from the NFL at age 32, and that move opens up one more spot in a crowded Lions defensive line room. For the Bears, it trims the list of possible young pass-rush options they might have been able to target later in the summer.
The idea was simple enough: after roster cuts, Chicago could look for another edge rusher, and Detroit’s depth might have offered a couple of intriguing names. Before O'Connor stepped away, there was a real chance the Bears could have tried to poach one of two recent draft picks - 2026 seventh-round pick Tyre West or 2025 sixth-round pick Ahmed Hassanein.
That matters because the Bears’ own defensive end group is thin on production. Players not named Montez Sweat have combined for just 25.0 career sacks.
That group includes seven players, and four of them have never recorded an NFL sack. Zero rookies are included in that count.
Read that again! Please!
So if Bears fans want to talk themselves into Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, Dayo Odeyingbo, Jamree Kromah, Jeremiah Martin and Jonathan Garvin, they can. But on paper, and frankly in reality, the room looks rough.
Detroit’s line was crowded enough that both West and Hassanein had looked like possible cut candidates, with the hope that one or both could clear waivers and return to the practice squad. With Ben Johnson’s connection to the Lions, Chicago had at least some reason to think about making a run at one of them as a final defensive end.
Now, O'Connor’s retirement changes that picture. There’s a better chance at least one of those young Lions sticks on the final roster, which narrows the pool of players Johnson could try to bring over from his former team.
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