Michigan's Josh Uche could be pass-rush answer Bears need

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Even with all-world outside linebacker Khalil Mack on the roster, the Bears are going to search for help in their pass rush this offseason. The 2020 NFL Draft is the best way to accomplish that goal, especially because of the price tag that even average edge defenders command on the open market.

One player who may have put himself on the Bears' radar this week at the 2020 Senior Bowl is Michigan's Josh Uche.

Of all the edge defenders in Mobile, Ala., it was Uche (6-foot-1, 243 pounds) whose burst and bend around the edge was nearly unblockable regardless of who he matched up against. Uche wasn't unleashed in the Wolverines defense but he did manage a career-high 7.5 sacks in 2019 and totaled 14.5 sacks over the last two seasons combined.

The Bears need to add more speed off the edge. Former first-round pick Leonard Floyd simply isn't that guy, and the sooner the Bears realize that the better off they'll be.

GM Ryan Pace has what seems like a pretty simple decision to make about Floyd's future this offseason; he can rescind the fifth-year option in his contract and save the Bears more than $13 million against the 2020 salary cap. It would be a choice that likely marks the end of Floyd's career as a Bear, but at this point, that career has been nothing more than an underwhelming disappointment that's totaled just 18.5 sacks over four years.

Chicago can't waste the prime years of Mack's elite pass-rush production. If they don't add a high-impact complement opposite him, that's what they'll be doing. Uche could be that guy.

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