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The Chicago Bears had a magical 2025 season under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, where they went from worst to first with an 11-6 record, NFC North title and the franchise's first playoff win in 15 years. And there's no denying that the future is bright.
While the Bears exceeded expectations in their first year under Johnson, there's still plenty of work to be done with this roster, most notably on defense. After overhauling the offense in the trenches and at skill positions, the focus shifts to the defense where the hope is general manager Ryan Poles does the same to round out this unit under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and form a complete team with a top-five offense.
Here at Bears Wire, we're going position by position through the 2025 Bears and grading every player. Next up: Linebackers, where veteran leaders T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds were lost for different times of the season, forcing others to step up at a position that could've benefit from more depth.
2025 stats: 67 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, 3 QB hits, 1 interception, 5 pass breakups
T.J. Edwards missed a lot of the regular season this year due to hamstring injuries, and not only was his play on the field missed, but so was his leadership. Edwards played in just 10 regular season games and also missed the NFC divisional round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. His availability would've been his best ability this year, and he just didn't have that from him this season.
Grade: C+
2025 stats: 112 tackles, 3 takles for loss, 1 sack, 3 QB hits, 1 fumble recovery, 4 interceptions, 9 pass breakups
Tremaine Edmunds was available more than Edwards this year, playing in 13 games on the year and at one point was a league and team leader for interceptions. With the lack of depth behind Edmunds and Edwards really felt as if both top linebackers pushed themselves to get back out there sooner than maybe they should've and it hurt their overall performances.
Grade: B-
2025 stats: 43 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups
D'Marco Jackson played at an extremely high level and maybe one of the best unsung heroes on the entire Bears roster. Jackson graded out as the 13th-best linebacker on the PFF metric grading system and proved to be one of most productive players for Dennis Allen. Jackson has familiarity with Allen during their time in New Orleans, and he didn't miss a beat when he was called upon to step up.
Grade: B+
2025 stats: 59 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble
Noah Sewell had an opportunity to step up and earn more playing time this season, but he simply did not produce at a level that was needed. Sewell graded out very poorly at his position, 81st of 88 graded linebackers on PFF. Sewell has had his chances before, and he simply hasn't performed.
Grade: C-
2025 stats: 17 tackles, 1 pass breakup
Amen Ogbongbemiga was not able to break into the roster on a full-time basis, but he did leave his mark on special teams. Ogbongbemiga has been a solid special teams contributor over the past couple of seasons, but he gets an incomplete grade for not having more opportunities to get on the field and make an impact.
Grade: Incomplete
The linebackers were not available as often as they should've been this season, and the lack of veteran leadership and presence really hurt the position. There will be rumors about what the team will do with this position this offseason, which could include a move away from Tremaine Edmunds, but the reason for their average grade is because of the lack of availability.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears LB review: Grading T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds in 2025
Continue reading...
While the Bears exceeded expectations in their first year under Johnson, there's still plenty of work to be done with this roster, most notably on defense. After overhauling the offense in the trenches and at skill positions, the focus shifts to the defense where the hope is general manager Ryan Poles does the same to round out this unit under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and form a complete team with a top-five offense.
Here at Bears Wire, we're going position by position through the 2025 Bears and grading every player. Next up: Linebackers, where veteran leaders T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds were lost for different times of the season, forcing others to step up at a position that could've benefit from more depth.
T.J. Edwards
2025 stats: 67 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, 3 QB hits, 1 interception, 5 pass breakups
T.J. Edwards missed a lot of the regular season this year due to hamstring injuries, and not only was his play on the field missed, but so was his leadership. Edwards played in just 10 regular season games and also missed the NFC divisional round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. His availability would've been his best ability this year, and he just didn't have that from him this season.
Grade: C+
Tremaine Edmunds
2025 stats: 112 tackles, 3 takles for loss, 1 sack, 3 QB hits, 1 fumble recovery, 4 interceptions, 9 pass breakups
Tremaine Edmunds was available more than Edwards this year, playing in 13 games on the year and at one point was a league and team leader for interceptions. With the lack of depth behind Edmunds and Edwards really felt as if both top linebackers pushed themselves to get back out there sooner than maybe they should've and it hurt their overall performances.
Grade: B-
D'Marco Jackson
2025 stats: 43 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups
D'Marco Jackson played at an extremely high level and maybe one of the best unsung heroes on the entire Bears roster. Jackson graded out as the 13th-best linebacker on the PFF metric grading system and proved to be one of most productive players for Dennis Allen. Jackson has familiarity with Allen during their time in New Orleans, and he didn't miss a beat when he was called upon to step up.
Grade: B+
Noah Sewell
2025 stats: 59 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble
Noah Sewell had an opportunity to step up and earn more playing time this season, but he simply did not produce at a level that was needed. Sewell graded out very poorly at his position, 81st of 88 graded linebackers on PFF. Sewell has had his chances before, and he simply hasn't performed.
Grade: C-
Amen Ogbongbemiga
2025 stats: 17 tackles, 1 pass breakup
Amen Ogbongbemiga was not able to break into the roster on a full-time basis, but he did leave his mark on special teams. Ogbongbemiga has been a solid special teams contributor over the past couple of seasons, but he gets an incomplete grade for not having more opportunities to get on the field and make an impact.
Grade: Incomplete
Position grade: C+
The linebackers were not available as often as they should've been this season, and the lack of veteran leadership and presence really hurt the position. There will be rumors about what the team will do with this position this offseason, which could include a move away from Tremaine Edmunds, but the reason for their average grade is because of the lack of availability.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears LB review: Grading T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds in 2025
Continue reading...
