Chicago Bears lose fan-favorite linebacker to Matt Eberflus and the Dallas Cowboys
https://youtu.be/m29Q8w4iU3s
A tough loss for the Chicago Bears as a beloved linebacker is heading to Dallas to reunite with former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. The move shakes up Chicago’s defense, leaving a gap in leadership and production. Fans are disappointed, but Ryan Poles must now find a way to replace this key contributor. Will the Bears look to free agency, the draft, or trust their current depth? How big of a loss is this for Chicago?
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#ChicagoBears #BearsNews #NFLFreeAgency #DallasCowboys #MattEberflus #BearsNation #WindyCityGridiron #NFLRumors #RyanPoles #NFL2025
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**Fair Use Disclaimer**
This video contains copyrighted material used under the fair use provisions of Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act. It is for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, and research. No copyright infringement is intended.
https://youtu.be/m29Q8w4iU3s
A tough loss for the Chicago Bears as a beloved linebacker is heading to Dallas to reunite with former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. The move shakes up Chicago’s defense, leaving a gap in leadership and production. Fans are disappointed, but Ryan Poles must now find a way to replace this key contributor. Will the Bears look to free agency, the draft, or trust their current depth? How big of a loss is this for Chicago?
----------
#ChicagoBears #BearsNews #NFLFreeAgency #DallasCowboys #MattEberflus #BearsNation #WindyCityGridiron #NFLRumors #RyanPoles #NFL2025
----------
**Fair Use Disclaimer**
This video contains copyrighted material used under the fair use provisions of Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act. It is for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, and research. No copyright infringement is intended.
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SportsTranscript
00:00The Chicago Bears have officially lost one of their own.
00:04Jack Sanborn, a player who fought his way from an undrafted free agent to a key
00:08contributor, is leaving Chicago. And where is he headed? To the Dallas
00:13Cowboys, but that is not even the most painful part for Bears fans.
00:16He is going to play for Matt Eberfloos, the former Bears head coach who
00:20struggled in Chicago and is now the defensive
00:23coordinator in Dallas. This is not just a minor roster
00:27move. This is a big deal. Jack Sanborn was never supposed to be a
00:31star. In fact, when he arrived in Chicago in 2022, he was an undrafted
00:36free agent. That means no team thought he was worth
00:40selecting in the National Football League draft.
00:43But from the moment he stepped onto the field, he proved people wrong.
00:47Not just wrong, completely wrong. He showed that sometimes the biggest stars
00:52are not the ones taken in the early rounds of the draft.
00:55Sometimes they are the ones who slip through the cracks, the ones overlooked,
00:59the ones who have to claw their way onto a roster.
01:03And that is exactly what Sanborn did. Sanborn made a name for himself during
01:08his rookie year. He got his chance when the Bears decided
01:11to trade their star linebacker, Ro'Quan Smith,
01:14to the Baltimore Ravens. Suddenly, Sanborn was not just fighting for a
01:19roster spot, he was starting in the middle of the defense.
01:22And he made the most of it. In only six games before suffering an ankle injury,
01:26he recorded 64 tackles and two sacks. Those are impressive numbers for a
01:30rookie, let alone one who was not even drafted.
01:34Think about that. He stepped into a role previously held by one of the best
01:38linebackers in the league, and he delivered.
01:40He did not just survive, he thrived. He read plays like a seasoned veteran, he
01:44was always around the football, and he made big plays when the Bears
01:48needed them. He played with heart, intelligence, and a
01:52relentless drive that made him impossible to ignore. Fans loved him, and
01:56it is easy to see why. He played with passion, intensity, and
02:00intelligence. He was not the biggest or the fastest
02:04player on the field, but he always seemed to be in the right place at the right
02:07time. That is what made him special. He was the
02:10definition of a hard-working, blue-color linebacker. And in a city like
02:14Chicago, where defense is part of the team's
02:17identity, players like that do not come around
02:21often. This is a franchise that has been built on the backs of
02:24legendary linebackers. Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Brian Erlacher,
02:29linebackers who defined what it meant to play
02:32in Chicago. Sanborn was never going to be in that tier,
02:36but he fit the mold of what fans wanted. A tough, hard-nosed, no-excuses player
02:43who left everything on the field. But things changed in 2023. The Bears
02:49made some big moves in free agency, signing two high-profile linebackers in
02:53Tremaine Edmonds and T.J. Edwards. Suddenly, Sanborn was no longer the guy
02:57in the middle of the defense. Instead, he became a backup, filling in when needed.
03:01He still played well, finishing the season with 65 tackles,
03:04one interception, one sack, and seven tackles for loss.
03:09But his playing time dropped significantly.
03:12He went from being a promising young starter to a rotational player. It was
03:16not that he had done anything wrong, he was
03:18just the odd man out. The Bears had invested a lot of money in
03:23Edmonds and Edwards. When you pay two linebackers
03:27big contracts, they are going to be the ones getting the majority of snaps.
03:31In 2024, it was more of the same. He was still an important part of the team,
03:36but his role was shrinking. His snap count dropped,
03:39his impact on the field was reduced, and it became clear that the Bears had moved
03:44in a different direction. By the end of the season, it was obvious
03:49Sanborn was not in the team's long-term plans.
03:52And that is when the biggest shock of all happened.
03:55Sanborn was a restricted free agent, which meant the Bears had the ability to
03:59keep him if they wanted to. All they had to do was tender him a contract.
04:02But they did not. Instead, they let him walk.
04:07Just like that, he was gone. No compensation, no trade, no effort to keep
04:11him. He was free to sign with any team in the
04:14league. And one team wasted no time in picking him up.
04:18That team was the Dallas Cowboys. And the man behind the move?
04:22Matt Eberfluss. Yes, the same Matt Eberfluss who coached the Bears for two
04:26disappointing seasons before getting fired.
04:28Now he is the defensive coordinator in Dallas, and one of his first moves was
04:33bringing in Sanborn. That tells you everything you need to know.
04:36Eberfluss knows what kind of player Sanborn is. He knows his intelligence,
04:40his toughness, his ability to read plays. He knows that Sanborn can be an asset to
04:46any defense. And now he is taking him to Dallas.
04:50For the Cowboys, this is a smart move. They needed depth at linebacker. Their
04:54defense struggled with injuries last season,
04:57and they needed a player who could step in and contribute right away.
05:00Sanborn is that kind of player. He may not be the most
05:03athletic linebacker in the league, but he is reliable, disciplined, and
05:08always in the right spot. He is the kind of player that coaches love to have on
05:12their team. And under Eberfluss, he could carve out
05:15a major role. Do not be surprised if he ends up
05:18starting at some point this season. But for Bears fans, this one hurts.
05:23Sanborn was not just another player. He was a symbol of
05:26everything Chicago football is about. He was a guy who worked his way up,
05:31fought for his spot, and never backed down. And now he is gone.
05:36And to make things worse, he is going to a team that many Bears fans
05:40do not like. Losing him is one thing, but seeing him in a Cowboys jersey?
05:46That is a whole new level of pain. The big question now is whether the Bears
05:51made the right decision. Some fans believe they should have kept him even
05:54if he was not a starter. He was a valuable piece of the defense.
05:57Injuries happen all the time in the National Football League. Depth matters.
06:01And when you have a player like Sanborn who can step in and contribute at a high
06:05level, it is tough to let him go.
06:09On the other hand, the Bears have a plan. General Manager Ryan Poles has a vision
06:13for this defense. He is looking for speed, versatility, and coverage ability at the
06:18linebacker position. That is why Sanborn, who is more of a traditional
06:22run-stopping linebacker, may not have been the perfect fit. From a roster
06:26building perspective, it makes sense. But that does not make it any easier to
06:31accept. So what happens next? The Bears will
06:34likely look to replace Sanborn through the draft or free agency. There are
06:38always young linebackers looking for an opportunity. But no matter who they
06:41bring in, fans will be watching to see how Sanborn performs in Dallas. If he
06:46thrives under Matt Eberfloos and becomes a key piece of the Cowboys defense,
06:50people will question whether the Bears made a mistake.
06:54Sanborn was a player who gave everything he had to the Chicago Bears.
06:59He fought for every snap, every tackle, every moment on the field.
07:03Now he is going to do that for another team.
07:06And for Bears fans, that is a tough pill to swallow.
07:10Jack Sanborn in a Cowboys jersey, it just does not feel right. But
07:14that is the reality. The Bears made their decision.
07:18Now we wait to see if it was the right one. What do you think? Should the Bears
07:21have kept Jack Sanborn, or was this just a business decision that had to be made?
07:26Let us know in the comments.