Justin Houston. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Bears were targeting All-Pro OLB if they didn’t land Yannick Ngakoue

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 8/11/23

The Chicago Bears bolstered their pass rush one week ago, signing Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year, $10.5M contract.

But according to ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler , the Bears had a contingency plan to sign four-time Pro Bowl edge-rusher Justin Houston had things not worked out with Ngakoue.

“The Bears had eyed Yannick Ngakoue for a while before eventually signing him,” Fowler recently wrote. “A few reasons a deal took time: Ngakoue and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were looking for up to $13M at one point, which was a non-starter for teams. The Bears also were under the impression that Ngakoue wanted a multi-year deal. The sides eventually found a middle ground. Justin Houston was a backup option for Chicago.”

Yannick Ngakoue has finished with at least 8 sacks in all 7 seasons of his career. Safe to say he should be a key piece of the @ChicagoBears' pass rush. @YannickNgakoue pic.twitter.com/fGtmOJMsgE
— NFL (@NFL) August 4, 2023

All things considered, the Bears made the right call.

The 28-year-old Ngakoue is six years younger than Houston, and he’s been the more productive pass-rusher over the last seven seasons, besting the 34-year-old in pressures (380 to 291), hurries (229 to 182), sacks (65 to 55.5) and QB hits (83 to 47), per Pro Football Focus.

Ngakoue is also a better fit scheme-wise for Chicago’s defense, playing more defensive end — a role that allows for more versatility — while Houston is more of a standup outside linebacker.

"I think [Ngakoue] fits really well," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said, via the team’s official website. "He was in that same type of scheme there (with the Raiders). It's really the same type. It's not going to be a stretch for him. He fits really well, so we're excited about that. And we had some intel on him — what kind of teammate he is, what kind of person he is, what kind of worker he is. And he checked all the boxes there for us. He's going to be a good addition."

More must-reads: