Bears To Sign DE Aaron Lynch

The Bears will sign free agent edge rusher Aaron Lynch to a one-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Lynch spent the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers, with whom he had some overlap with current Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. His familiarity with the Bears’ scheme is an obvious place, and he could conceivably slot in at either defensive end or linebacker. Either way, Lynch will have one goal: get after opposing quarterbacks.

Lynch admittedly hasn’t been on the field much since 2016 (he’s averaged only 16% playtime over the past two seasons), and the 24-year-old Lynch was reportedly overweight and in danger of getting cut last May. But the former fifth-round pick posted 12.5 sacks over the first two years of his career, and ranked fifth in the NFL with 34 pressures as recently as 2015.

In Chicago, Lynch should have a good shot to rehab his value in advance of 2019 free agency. Although the Bears re-signed veteran outside linebacker Sam Acho to go along with Leonard Floyd on the edge, Acho doesn’t posses Lynch’s upside. With Pernell McPhee now out of the picture, Lynch should be able to soak up snaps as a pass rusher.

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