Player
T.J. Edwards
LB · Bears
T.J. Edwards: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
UDFA out of Wisconsin → Eagles starting MIKE → 3-year, $19.5M Bears deal — and a top-5 LB TFL season at Soldier Field.
TrendT.J. Edwards career arc
| Season | Team | Comb Tk | TFL | Sacks | PDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | PHI | 32 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2020 | PHI | 68 | 5 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | PHI | 131 | 5 | 1.0 | 5 |
| 2022 | PHI | 155 | 10 | 2.0 | 8 |
| 2023 | CHI | 138 | 8 | 2.5 | 7 |
| 2024 | CHI | 119 | 12 | 4.0 | 3 |
| 2025 | CHI | 67 | 2 | 0.5 | 5 |
Undrafted in 2019, Edwards earned a special-teams role as a rookie, then took over the Eagles' MIKE spot in 2021. 155 combined tackles in 2022 powered Philadelphia's Super Bowl LVII run. Bears signed him to a 3-year deal in 2023 free agency, and Year 2 (12 TFLs, 4 sacks) was the best version of him yet.
2025 has been the outlier — just 10 games played through Week 19 due to a hamstring issue, and a production drop across the board.
Combined tackles per season
| Season | Combined Tackles |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 32 |
| 2020 | 68 |
| 2021 | 131 |
| 2022 | 155 |
| 2023 | 138 |
| 2024 | 119 |
| 2025 (10g) | 67 |
12 TFLs in 2024 — 6th-most among off-ball ILBs leaguewide, more than Bobby Wagner or Roquan Smith.
Rare2024 off-ball ILB TFL leaders
| Player | Team | TFL | Comb Tk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quincy Williams | NYJ | 14 | 109 |
| Frankie Luvu | WAS | 14 | 110 |
| Edgerrin Cooper | GB | 13 | 87 |
| Nick Bolton | KC | 13 | 118 |
| Zack Baun | PHI | 13 | 172 |
| T.J. Edwards | CHI | 12 | 119 |
| Nakobe Dean | PHI | 11 | 126 |
| Jordyn Brooks | MIA | 11 | 131 |
The 2024 TFL leaderboard for off-ball linebackers is a who's-who — and Edwards (12) sits 6th, ahead of Nakobe Dean, Jordyn Brooks, Zaire Franklin and Bobby Wagner. He paired the TFLs with 4 sacks (a career high) on a Bears defense that finished top-12 in scoring.
PHI version: 155-tackle MIKE on a Super Bowl team. CHI version: blitz weapon (8.5 sacks across 3 years).
SplitEagles vs Bears career splits
| Stint | Games | Comb Tk | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI 2019-22 | 60 | 386 | 20 | 5.0 | 9 |
| CHI 2023-25 | 44 | 324 | 22 | 7.0 | 17 |
In Philadelphia Edwards was an old-school stack-and-shed MIKE — high tackle volume, low blitz frequency. 9 QB hits in 4 Eagles seasons.
Matt Eberflus and Eric Washington unlocked the green-dog blitzer in Chicago — 17 QB hits, 22 TFLs, 7 sacks in 3 years. Eagles tackled, Bears attacked.
Started every game of the Eagles' Super Bowl LVII run — 9 combined tackles in the NFC Championship vs San Francisco.
MilestoneEdwards — 2022 playoff run
| Round | Opp | Solo | Asst | PDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIV | NYG | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| NFCCG | SF | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SB LVII | KC | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Edwards started all 3 games of the 2022 Eagles postseason and led the team with 6 combined tackles + 1 PD in Super Bowl LVII (lost to KC 38-35). He was the only undrafted Eagle to start the Super Bowl.
The playoff line capped a season where he was 3rd in the entire NFL in combined tackles (155) behind only Foye Oluokun and Roquan Smith.
2025 production cratered — 67 tackles in 10 games is his lowest per-game rate since 2020.
AnomalyThrough Week 19 of 2025, Edwards has played just 10 games (hamstring/concussion absences) and produced 67 combined tackles, 2 TFLs, 0.5 sacks. The per-game pace (6.7 tackles/game) is well below his 2021-24 baseline of 9.0+ per game.
It's a contract-year dip — his 3-year Bears deal expires after this season. If the back half of his career looks like the back half of 2025, the next deal will be incentive-heavy.
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