The Bears’ defense might plunge right back into its old problems if it can’t pivot in the pass rush after defensive end Yannick Ngakoue’s season-ending injury.
Ngakoue didn’t fix the pass-rush deficiency the way general manager Ryan Poles had hoped when he shelled out $10.5 million for him on a one-year deal in training camp. That answer came with the trade for defensive end Montez Sweat a couple of months later. But Sweat’s arrival sparked Ngakoue, and the Bears will need help from elsewhere now that he’s out.
