Growing Tremaine Edmunds: How the linebacker became the $72 million face of the Chicago Bears defense at 25
Of all the stories about how Tremaine Edmunds grew into the player expected to lead the Chicago Bears defense, Terrell Edmunds’ account involves actual inches.
Terrell remembers a track season early in Tremaine’s high school career when his younger — but not smaller — brother complained often about leg pain and didn’t run as fast as usual. It turned out Tremaine was on the verge of sprouting several inches, so much that he stands out even in a family full of NFL players.
“He hit his growth spurt that summertime, and we were like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be the truth,’ ” Terrell said during the Philadelphia Eagles’ offseason program. “Because he got his speed back, he got his footing underneath (him) and he’s always been athletic. We just knew he was going to be legit after that.”
Tremaine Edmunds’ size will be the first thing fans notice when they attend training camp practices, which began last week at Halas Hall. The middle linebacker’s 6-foot-5, 250-pound physique looming in the center of the Bears defense is eye-catching even before he shows off his athleticism.
But there’s more to why Bears general manager Ryan Poles made Edmunds his highest-paid offseason addition with a four-year, $72 million contract. Why he is expected to be the face of coach Matt Eberflus’ defense after turning 25 in May. And why longtime NFL coach Bob Babich used the same word as Terrell to describe his former Buffalo Bills player.
“Legit.”
Babich knows something about coaching a
