For a minute there, it looked like the New York Giants might have another defensive centerpiece fall into their lap. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Monday that the Chicago Bears gave linebacker Tremaine Edmunds permission to seek a trade and listed the G-Men as a potential partner.
It’s a good thing the Giants waited a couple of days before diving headfirst into any Edmunds-related trade talks. Three days after Fowler’s report, ESPN’s Adam Schefter jumped on social media to announce the Bears had shut down those discussions... because they released him, making the former Virginia Tech standout a free agent:
Bears are releasing former Pro-Bowl LB Tremaine Edmunds, per sources. Edmunds has been a full-time starter in each of his eight NFL seasons, and he now will become a free agent with 900 tackles on his resume. pic.twitter.com/2f1FWm5Fk5
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2026
Work smarter, not harder, right? What an absolute win for general manager Joe Schoen and Co. Instead of coughing up draft capital to get him, they can now just sign him outright.
Tremaine Edmunds suddenly becomes awesome free agent target for Giants
The timing couldn’t be better. Big Blue released Bobby Okereke on Tuesday, which suddenly makes the need for another linebacker even more pressing. Ultimately, money and a dip in play led to the decision -- New York cleared $9 million in cap space by moving on from the 29-year-old. Money has a funny way of getting in the way.
Chicago was playing the same cap game. By cutting Edmunds, the Bears freed up roughly $15 million in space, which suddenly made the idea of moving on a couple of Brink's trucks easier. It's hard to say his release was shocking.
It would be pretty wild if someone had written an article two weeks ago about every team’s potential cap casualty that could make sense for the Giants and included Edmunds as the Bears’ candidate. That'd be nuts.
Oh... wait.
I’m not saying I’m on a heater or anything, but I did tell fans to keep an eye on wide receiver Bryce Lance at the combine, and all he did was annihilate the testing with a 9.98 Relative Athleticism Score, ranking seventh among 3,844 receivers. The lottery numbers are 11, 14, 42...
Jokes aside, the 27-year-old could be a perfect fit in Harbaugh’s defense. The future Hall of Fame coach has always had a dude running the middle of the field, and Edmunds could easily be the next name in line after Ray Lewis, C.J. Mosley, Patrick Queen, and Roquan Smith.
Edmunds checks a lot of boxes for what the Giants need right now. At 6-foot-4 with the range to cover backs and tight ends, he’s the kind of linebacker who can control the middle of the defense on all three downs. Schoen also knows him well from their time together in Buffalo, which only makes the fit make more sense.
Sometimes the smartest move is just waiting for another team to make the hard decision for you. Thanks, Bears GM Ryan Poles, for making Edmunds about $15 million easier for the Giants to go get.