Twenty-five years of Chicago Bears football are in the books since the turn of the century. Since the calendar turned over to 2000, the Bears have seen some success, but also plenty of woeful stretches. Early on, Chicago became a defensive force, claiming four division titles and reaching only their second Super Bowl in franchise history from 2000 to 2010. Since then, however, a 14-year playoff victory drought that is still ongoing and a one-sided fight with their rival Green Bay Packers have taken the spotlight.
For all the ups and downs the Bears have seen, however, they had plenty of talent over the years across offense and defense. Multiple former Bears players are already in the Hall of Fame, while many more provided years of incredible play in the navy and orange.
Here at Bears Wire, we’re celebrating the best Bears players at each position over the last 25 years. We’re going position by position to name the Bears’ All-Quarter Century Team for those who played from 2000 through 2024. Kicking off the defense, we’re looking at some impactful edge rushers who have come through Chicago, including a recent Hall of Famer.
Julius Peppers
The Bears have had some impactful edge rushers in their storied history, and you can’t discuss them without including Hall of Famer Julius Peppers. Chicago signed him to the largest contract ever given to a defensive player — at the time — with a six-year, $84 million deal. His impact on defense was immediate as he helped the Bears make the playoffs for the first time since their Super Bowl run in 2006. He also showed he was still an absolute game wrecker. While Peppers played most of his career with the Carolina Panthers, some of his best seasons came with the Bears.
Peppers’ resume in Chicago alone is impressive, which includes a First-Team All-Pro nod in 2010, a Second-Team All-Pro nod in 2012, as well as three Pro Bowl appearances (2010-12) while also being part of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. The Bears unfortunately released Peppers back in 2014 — due to his large salary cap hit — and he exacted his revenge by playing for the hated Green Bay Packers for three years, where he terrorized his old team. But Peppers did ultimately return to Carolina, where he was able to retire with his first team.
Khalil Mack
The Bears took a massive swing when they traded for Khalil Mack just about a week before the start of the 2018 season, which elevated their defense in a big way. Mack’s impact was immediate in his first game with Chicago (in a loss to the Green Bay Packers) and carried through the rest of the 2018 season as the Bears made the postseason. Mack posted 12.5 sacks en route to a First-Team All-Pro nod and his fourth Pro Bowl while finishing second in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting. He ranked third on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019. Mack showed that he was a game wrecker and defense and continued to be one of the NFL’s best. While he was never as dominant as that first year, he was Chicago’s best defensive player and continued to show how he can impact a game. In four years, Mack was a First-Team All-Pro (2018), Second-Team All-Pro (2020), three-time Pro Bowler (2018-20) and was named to the 100 Greatest Bears of All-Time list.
In Mack’s final season with the Bears, he played in just seven games (logging 19 tackles and six sacks) after undergoing season-ending foot surgery. After general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Nagy were fired at season’s end, the Bears brought in a new regime, led by current GM Ryan Poles, who had to tear the roster down to the studs to rebuild it. Unfortunately, that meant trading Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers given his massive cap hit. Mack has continued to dominate in Los Angeles, but there’s no denying his impact in Chicago in just four years.
Adewale Ogunleye
The Bears landed a diamond in the rough in a trade for Adewale Ogunleye, a former undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins who developed into a key piece of a dominant Lovie Smith-led defense in Chicago. While Ogunleye doesn’t get as much recognition as players like Peppers and Mack, for six years he was a defensive cornerstone for the Bears and proved to be a monster off the edge with 42 sacks, 57 QB hits, 11 forced fumbles and 65 tackles for loss. His 42 career sacks is tied with Trace Armstrong for the fifth most in franchise history.
Ogunleye spearheaded a dominant Bears defensive line with 10 sacks, second-most in his NFL career, en route to an NFC North championship and playoff berth in 2005, as well as Chicago’s impressive Super Bowl run in 2006, which ended on a sour note. While the Bears struggled in the years that followed, Ogunleye remained a mainstay on one of the league’s best defenses until 2010, when Chicago elected not to re-sign him. He spent one final year in the league with the Houston Texans.
Alex Brown
Alex Brown is the longest-tenured Bear on this list, and for good reason as he proved to a reliable, dominant edge rusher on some of the team’s best defenses. Brown was an all-around player who thrived both as a pass rusher and a run stopper, but he was especially dominant off the edge. Brown’s 43.5 sacks is the fourth most in franchise history, trailing only Richard Dent, Steve McMichael and Dan Hampton. His five career interceptions is second all-time (by a defensive lineman) in Bears history behind only Dent.
Brown spent his first eight NFL seasons with Chicago (2002-09) after being selected as a fourth-round pick. He proved to be a dependable mainstay on defense appearing in every regular season game off his career (starting with the second game of his rookie season) that included a streak of 143 straight games. Brown started in every game in six of his eight seasons with the Bears, where he showed that availability is sometimes the best ability. In eight seasons, Brown totaled 43.5 sacks, 59 QB hits, 16 forced fumbles and 79 tackles for loss. Following the 2009 season, the Bears released Brown after failing to find a trade partner. He played one more year in the league with the New Orleans Saints in 2010.
Honorable mention: Israel Idonije
Bears All-Quarter Century Team
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears All-Quarter Century Team: Edge rushers
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri and Brendan Sugrue, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
