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Dolphins released Bradley Chubb, so naturally, Bear fans are instantly debating if they they want him, or if he’s even cap feasible.

I’ll give my take.

At first I didn’t want him. He’s basically another 29yr old Sweat-tier DE [if that]. Good, but not dominant like Crosby, Garrett, or prime Mack/Peppers.

HOWEVER, unlike those S-tier edges, Chubb will NOT cost multiple 1sts.

We gotta be real. I doubt Poles is going to admit he totally whiffed on Dayo. He sticks way too long on ‘his guys’ whether it’s Claypoo, Velus, or even Eberflus. We also must calculate that Dayo will cost approx $20M against the ’26 cap and won’t save much if cut. Poles will essentially be paying Dayo $22M to thin out an already wafer-thin Dline.

It gets worse. Dayo [who never had more than 5 sacks a season] is coming off an achilles’ INJ which take 9-12 months for recovery, and sometimes two years, and sometimes, the athlete NEVER regains the same explosion [nightmare scenario for Trapilo as well. He could return around Halloween or January ’27, and he may never be the same regardless].

As the link above discusses, MAYBBBEEE Halas can dump Dayo via INJ settlement, spread out the cap hit, but I’m not holding my breath. Dayo’s not going to sail off in a banana boat out of the kindness of his heart. As such, Bears are likely stuck with Dayo and his $20M cap hit.

With that in mind, what are the chances the Bears are able to land a top DE like Crosby or Garrett? [to say nothing of the draft cost]. Can they even afford former Bengal Trey Hendrickson who seems to only care about getting paid?

Enter Bradley Chubb who won’t cost the Bears draft picks or $40M/yr. The contract can be relatively short term too – something like the 3-yr Dayo contract, but hopefully with a short term out.

Bradley Chubb. 6’4, 268, 29 yrs old, 34″ arms, but mostly played in a 3-4. 11 sacks in ’23, [tore his ACL in ’24]; 8 sacks in ’25 + 12.2% rush win rate. PFF grade 57 overall. Pass rush 60. Run 57. [His run D doesn’t thrill me or Allen]

Two big questions:
1. Is he a fit in Allen’s 4-3?
2. Are his best years behind him [see ACL]?

Given the disaster that is Dayo, it’s hard for me to trust the scouting eyes at Halas to properly answer those, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, and the Bears are beggars here.

We don’t know if another team will conveniently release a Chubb-tier DE, and even if they do in-season, that hypothetical released DE will hit the waivers.

So while I may not get a full-Chubb for Chubb, he may be the best option of a suboptimal situation especially since we have no clue when Dayo [who sucked] will even be available for much of the season.

Signing Chubb will also mean that Poles can keep the #25 overall pick, and future picks, to re-stack a team which has more holes than the Iraqi navy.

Crosby and Garrett are the sleek sports’ car with the whale-tail.
Chubb is that Toyota Camry the gambler who whiffed must settle for.