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.
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