The nightmare that was the 2024 Chicago Bears season is over. Before the transactional period starts and the roster changes begin, we will recap the seasons of most of the 53-man roster. Next up: We’re looking at the 2024 season of defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker.
DeMarcus Walker’s 2024 Snapshot
DeMarcus Walker arrived in Chicago on a freshly minted three-year deal before the 2023 season, thanks to his 2022 campaign with the Tennessee Titans, where he logged eight sacks, a career-high for the former second-round selection of the Denver Broncos in 2017.
Walker finished his second season in Chicago with the same number of sacks he logged in his first, four, giving him eight in two seasons with the Bears. Disappointing? Perhaps. The Bears inked Walker, who was coming off a career year in Tennessee, and they’ve gotten less in the sack department than they hoped for when they gave him a multi-year deal.
That doesn’t mean his 2024 campaign was a failure. Walker logged four sacks but hit the quarterback 12 times and hurried opposing quarterbacks 23 times while making 39 tackles. Walker logged a career-best 25 stops, which are plays that result in a negative outcome for the offense (PFF).
Walker started every game for a Bears defensive line that dealt with injuries throughout the season and shared time with Darrell Taylor on the outside of the defensive line opposite Montez Sweat.
By the Numbers
- Tackles: 39
- Sacks: 4
- QB Hits: 12
- QB Hurries: 23
- Defensive Stops: 25
Contract Status
DeMarcus Walker signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Bears before the 2023 season. Walker, who will turn 31 next season, is set to make $5.2 million in base salary and $50K through a workout bonus for a total cap number of $5.91 million in 2025. If the Bears wanted to move on from Walker this offseason, they could do so by cutting him with a pre-June 1 designation and incurring a $666K dead money hit while gaining $5.25 million in cap savings.

One Big Question
What will the Bears do on the right side of the defensive line this offseason?
DeMarcus Walker’s future in Chicago depends on how they address the right side of the defensive line this offseason. The need to add a starting caliber defensive end opposite Montez Sweat should be near the top of their offseason wishlist, relegating Walker to a reserve role at a cap hit of just over $5 million in 2025.
With the ability to move on from the soon-to-be 31-year-old edge rusher with under a million in dead money and plenty of assets in their chest to upgrade this position, it seems likely to me they add roughly $5 million to that chest of resources to upgrade the position, and land a reserve at a lower price point. If I had to guess today, I think we’ve seen DeMarcus Walker’s last game as a Bear.