Bears sign Dylan Cole, free agent linebacker

The Bears added another linebacker on Thursday. The team announced the signing of Dylan Cole, a six-year NFL veteran.

Cole will be a deep/special teams contributor for the Bears in 2023, with a chance to compete for spots at strong linebacker. Of the Bears’ three linebacker positions, the middle linebacker and weakside linebacker are on the field all the time, while the strong linebacker is only on the field when the Bears are not using a nickel angle. That’s not much.

Cole began his professional career as an undrafted free agent for the Texans in 2017. He stayed in Houston for four years and played largely on special teams in 37 games. Cole spent his last two seasons with the Titans, where he became a more regular contributor on defense. In 2022, Cole has started eight games. Throughout his career, Cole had 147 tackles, two sacks, nine passes defensed, two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown.

Ryan Poles has invested heavily in the quarterback position this offseason. Tremaine Edmonds has handed the team’s most lucrative contract of the year—four years, $72 million, $50 million guaranteed—presumably to play the weak linebacker. In addition, he signed TJ Edwards to a three-year, $19.5 million deal with a $7.9 million guarantee to take over the middle linebacker role.

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