It didn’t take long for Mario Edwards to find a new home. One day after being released by the Saints, the veteran defensive end has agreed to sign with the Bears, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter).
New Orleans was reportedly interested in re-signing Edwards to its practice squad, but the Bears were quick to pounce in an effort to bolster their defensive line depth. Though Chicago’s LB corps looks pretty stout, the club is a bit thin along the D-line in the wake of Eddie Goldman‘s decision to opt out of the 2020 season.
Edwards is not a replacement for Goldman, a nose tackle, but he will provide a more experienced DE to bookend with Akiem Hicks. He will likely push 2018 fifth-rounder Bilal Nichols for playing time.
Now 26, Edwards has never lived up to his status as a second-round draft choice. The Raiders selected the Florida State product in the 2015 draft, but he was waived after three seasons with Oakland. The Giants claimed him off waivers, and he parlayed his one year with Big Blue into a two-year, $5MM pact with the Saints last offseason. New Orleans liked him enough to keep him on this year’s practice squad but did not consider him good enough to be a part of its deep D-line rotation.
The Bears, however, don’t have as much depth, so they will give Edwards a spot on the 53-man roster.
The Saints were likely planning on signing Clowney, which is why they cut Edwards and Hunt. Those were two pieces that they reportedly were planning on using, but needed some room to make a push for Clowney. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try and bring back Hunt since Edwards has been taken by the Bears.
Good observation. Hunt proved to be a pretty valuable run defender for the 2018 Colts, so he could give Jordan and Davenport a break on early downs
LOL…. Bears are going to reunite Edwards and Mack. If they had traded for Carr, they would have that ring.