The Bears made a couple of roster moves in the early stages of training camp, but the pass rusher fans having been waiting for has yet to arrive. That could change.
According to Peggy Kusinski, the Bears have shown interest in four-time Pro Bowler Justin Houston.
“Source: it’s a waiting game for everyone, may come down to money,” Kusinski posted on Threads.
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Here’s what GM Ryan Poles had to say when asked if he was still looking to add a defensive end this summer:
“There’s guys that we have expectations for that are on our football team that we hope to develop and take that role but at the same time, we’re always going to search to improve our roster. So if it’s a defensive end or any position that we think can enhance our team we’re going to stay after them and stay engaged and see if we can improve our team that way.”
Kusinski’s report indicates several teams are interested in Houston’s services. It’s not surprising considering the 12-year veteran has 111.5 career sacks, 130 TFL, 19 forced fumbles and 14 fumble recoveries. Houston, 34, showed he still has something left in the tank with a 9.5 sack campaign with the Ravens last year, despite playing a career-low 44% of his team’s snaps. His 20.1% pass rush win rate was also 17th-best in the NFL among edge players, per PFF.
Houston has two big connections to the Bears. First, he crossed paths with Poles in KC from 2011-2018. Then Houston went to Indianapolis where he played really well in Matt Eberflus’ defense in 2019 and 2020.
