Chicago Bears: Alec Ogletree addition could be bad for Joel Iyiegbuniwe

The Chicago Bears’ recent addition of linebacker Alec Ogletree could mean trouble for Joel Iyiegbuniwe as he tries to claw out a spot on the 2021 roster.

The Chicago Bears continue to add depth to the roster. This time they added to the front seven of the defense, signing inside linebacker Alec Ogletree. In his eight-year career, Ogletree has played in 95 games, starting 94 of them. He’s been a high-volume tackler, having eclipsed triple-digit tackle numbers three times, and also has has 12 career interceptions, running four of them in for touchdowns. Additionally, he has 12 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Ogletree can also do well in pass coverage. He has 57 passes defended for his career. However, the veteran didn’t come in to challenge any of the starters. Last season, he only played in two games. He hasn’t played a full season since 2016. He does, however, give the Bears a starting-caliber player in a backup role. Barring an injury, he’ll certainly make the team.

That leaves an odd man out at linebacker. At inside linebacker, the Bears will go with Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan as the starters. They’ll have Christian Jones and Ogletree as the main backups, and then they have Austin Calitro, Josh Woods, and Joel Iyeigbuniwe to battle for one or two spots.

Having Iyiegbuniwe on the bubble is surprising to many. He was the Bears’ fourth-round pick in 2018. The coaching staff had high hopes for him, but he hasn’t been more than a special teams contributor throughout his time in Chicago. In fact, Woods was an undrafted rookie free agent signee in 2019 but played in double the snaps on defense than Iyiegbuniwe (46 to 23) last season.

I recently wrote about players having to step up to help the Bears this season. Iyeigbuniwe was one of them. Now, with Ogletree, his grip on a roster spot is tenuous.

With Woods impressing the coaching staff last season, the Bears probably want to see more of him. That leaves Calitro and Iyiegbuniwe.

Calitro didn’t play in any defensive snaps last year with the Denver Broncos. However, he has played in 516 defensive snaps in the previous two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars. That is much more than the 49 total defensive snaps that Iyiegbuniwe recorded in his career. Iyiegbuniwe does have more special teams snaps than Calitro 990 to 661, but that’s to be expected with Calitro playing more on defense.

Iyiegbuniwe has to show the Bears he could be more valuable to the team than Calitro. WIth Ogletree in the mix, that won’t leave many defensive snaps. That means if a player can come in and perform both on defense and special teams, he’ll become the more valuable player. At this point, it has to be Calitro.

Don’t get it wrong. The Chicago Bears coaches have waited for Iyiegbuniwe to show what he has. They’ll likely give Iyiegbuniwe all the opportunities to make an impression. Now that his career in Chicago is at stake, they should see his competitive spirit in action. If he doesn’t get it in gear, he could find himself looking for a job at the end of the preseason.