LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- As Ryan Poles attended his son’s little league baseball games, he heard it from Bears fans. When he walked a beach in Maui, there were the same cries.
The Bears needed that proven pass rusher to enhance their defensive identity, and fans reminded him wherever he went this offseason.
“Got to love the Bears fanbase and how passionate they are,” Poles said with a smile on Saturday.
Poles brought in that steady force for the pass rush by signing Yannick Ngakoue on a one-year, $10.5-million deal Friday. He is expected to take the practice field in the coming days after settling in with the Bears.
Ngakouke, 28, has 65 career sacks over 110 games. He had 9.5 sacks last season and has posted no fewer than eight sacks in each of his seven years in the NFL.
The Bears posted just 20 sacks over 17 games last season and their team leader was safety Jaquan Brisker, who managed four sacks. This is a defense that needed a player of Ngakoue’s caliber.
Poles now views the Bears as having a more complete defense with the addition of Ngakoue.
“I think the balance of being able to get home and also have a good secondary,” Poles said. “You want to be able to shorten that time to get the ball out, you want your secondary – which I see right now – being really good in coverage, which is going to buy the guys up front time to get home. That was an emphasis that (head coach Matt Eberflus) and I had, was to get more pressure on the quarterback and create turnovers.”
The Bears forced just 23 turnovers last season, a mark that Eberflus and his staff have focused on increasing.
Ngakoue was the top free-agent pass rusher available throughout the course of this entire offseason but was willing to wait until the start of training camp to make his decision. He had interest in signing with the Bears throughout the last several months, but Poles had to make the value work for his team’s salary cap situation.
After bringing Ngakoue into the fold, the Bears are looking at their defense differently.
“Yannick’s going to bring leadership, energy and his pass rush here, which is going to help our defense and help our team get better,” Poles said. “Also, the ability to help our young guys learn that craft and the skillset to be able to get home and be consistent and dependable like he’s been throughout his career.
“You see that thing coming together. And this is going to enhance it.”
Roster move
The Bears officially signed veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis on Saturday morning, the team announced. Tight end Chase Allen was waived with an injury designation in a corresponding roster move.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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