The Chicago Bears finally signed a defensive end, and general manager Ryan Poles gave credit to the fans for making it happen.
The Chicago Bears had the most cap space to work with this offseason, allowing general manager Ryan Poles to build the team in his image. While they did bring in a top wide receiver in D.J. Moore, and sign two linebackers in Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Ward, they didn't address the defensive end need with a big name. That all changed on Thursday.
Yannick Ngakoue, the former Indianapolis Colts, and Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher, signed a one-year contract with the Bears for a total of $10.5 million. With that, the Bears got a pass rusher who has never recorded less than eight sacks in his season in his career.
While speaking with the media on Saturday, Poles credited fans for signing Ngakoue. Poles mentioned that whether he was at his son's baseball game or a beach in Maui, fans reminded him to sign a defensive end.
Poles' comments can be heard below, courtesy of the Bears' official Twitter account.
Ryan Poles credits Bears fans for signing a much-needed defensive end
Fans, you can make a difference.
While the Bears did sign DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green to contracts this offseason, the team could still stand to make another move. After all, this was a team that finished dead-last in the NFL last season in sacks (29) and quarterback pressures (172). They were missing a true difference-making pass rusher since they traded Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, the Bears feel like they got one in Ngakoue.
Last season with the Colts, Ngakoue recorded 29 combined tackles (18 solo, 11 assisted), 16 quarterback hits, 9.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
In his career, Ngakoue recorded 202 combined tackles (163 total, 39 assisted), 135 quarterback hits, 65 sacks, and 21 forced fumbles.
Bears fans wanted a defensive end, and Poles delivered with the best pass rusher available in free agency at the time in Ngakoue. Now, we wait and see how Ngakoue does and if he can help the team win the NFC North.
