Bears 2024 free agency profile: Is Josh Allen the answer to pass rusher need?

NFL free agency is just around the corner, where the Chicago Bears have plenty of players set to hit the open market and other veterans around the league who will certainly be of interest for Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going through some key free agents — both in-house and potential targets from other teams — breaking down their 2023 performance and whether or not they fit in the Bears’ long-term plans.

With Chicago dealing with quite the quarterback debacle this offseason, it only makes sense to further add to the QB merry-go-round and discuss the optics of superb Bills’ passer Josh Allen taking his talents to Chicago… What’s that? That’s not the Josh Allen we’re talking about? Ah, another time, then.

Now that we got the mandatory Josh Allen joke aside, Jacksonville’s outstanding edge rusher is set to hit free agency this offseason after a spectacular 2023 campaign. The former 2019 first-round pick wasted no time demonstrating why he was so highly touted out of Kentucky, recording 10.5 sacks in his rookie year. A significant knee injury in 2020 and inadequate coaching kept him from reaching the highs he attained in his rookie season, and questions began to sprout regarding his ability to be a top-end pass-rusher in the league.

Allen’s fifth-year option was picked up, giving him one last chance to prove his quarterback-hunting merits. He made the most of it, scoring 17.5 sacks in 2023, tying for second-most sacks in the NFL. Allen asserted himself as one of the league’s deadliest pass rushers, creating a difficult situation for the Jaguars: do they give him a massive contract, place the franchise tag on him or let him walk?

Those scenarios, as well as his compatibility with the Bears, are exactly what we’ll be discussing in this iteration of free agency profiles.