LB D’Marco Jackson re-signed 2 years $7.5 million S Coby Bryant signed 3 years $40 million DT Neville Gallimore signed 2 years $12 million LB Devin Bush signed 3 years $30 million ($21 million guaranteed) QB Case Keenum signed 2 years $5.5 million with a max value of $8 million OT Braxton Jones signed 1 year $10 million $ DE D Hardy 2 years $5 million
Departures WR OZ – Falcons DE D Robinson – Texans LB T Edmunds – Giants WR DJ Moore – Bills
NFL announced 33 compensatory picks for the 2026 draft. The #Bears were not awarded one. That doesn’t come as a surprise based on conversations last month at the combine.
DE Trey Hendrickson CB Tariq Woolen OT Rasheed Walker TE Chig Okonkwo WR Romeo Doubs S Kevin Byard CB Nahshon Wright DE K’Lavon Chaisson G Alijah Vera-Tucker G Chris Paul QB Kyler Murray OLB Bradley Chubb OT Taylor Decker OT Braden Smith G Elgton Jenkins WR Calvin Austin III WR Deebo Samuel WR Jauan Jennings G Wyatt Teller S Jaquan Brisker LB Kaden Elliss LB Leo Chenal TE Dallas Goedert TE David Njoku DT D.J. Reader RB Rachaad White
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Jeff Haynes/AP
NFL free agency unofficially opens at noon ET on March 9 [MON] with the negotiation window (when players can agree to terms); it officially opens at 4 p.m. ET on March 11 ( WEDs when players can actually be signed).
I wanted Crosby initially; however, Dalman’s shocking retirement has changed my mind. Bears now have significant question marks at:
SS [Brisker gone], C [Dalman gone], LT [Trapilo achilles], DE [Dayo achilles/suckage], DT [only two on roster as of this weekend], LB [Edmunds gone, Edwards old, HippoWho?]
Thuney isn’t getting any younger; plus, this assumes Poles will resign an older Byard, and that the 3rd WR [DJ Moore gone] won’t be Velus Jones.
In other words – a rebuild – or retweak.
This isn’t quite “Apollo 13” where shit is at critical. This is more akin to “The Martian” where Poles [with major help from Ground Control Ben Johnson] must problem solve on the fly.
Bears are in an odd spot. They absolutely overachieved in a magical ’25 season which may distort the real talent and depth of the team.
It SEEMS [still TBD, btw] that the Bears nailed the two most vital components of sustained success: HC, QB
[the 3rd part is GM, but let’s not digress, ahem].
HC/QB can go a LONG way – mask many deficiencies and mistakes [see, 2000s Pats].
Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are the foundation. They offer a floor that is higher than Lovie/Grossman.
The Oline is [or was] the strength of this team. A top 5 unit by most objective metrics.
So one could make a valid case for attaining a premium LT+C in FA.
The top 2 for the Bears should be recently released LT Taylor Decker [former Lion] on hopefully a short 1-2 yr deal ’til we know WTF is left of Trapilo
Also C Linderbaum [former Raven], though many predict he’s asking for north of $22M/yr.
Current Cap Space – NFC North
Chicago Bears: $32 million Green Bay Packers: $2.7 million Detroit Lions: -$6 million Minnesota Vikings: -$44.5 million
I could see Poles paying Decker, and sticking to a cheaper option at C. He did draft Luke Newman after all; albeit that doesn’t automatically make him viable [cough- Kiran, Hippo, Velus- cough].
Poles will now have to do what many great GMs [Grandmasters] must:
Sacrifice lesser pieces to win.
The proven formula is to build the lines, but does that mean paying a C like a player who scores TDs? NO.
OTOH, one of the first things Poles did with BJ was sign Dalman, so it could be that BJ values C much more since his O lines up under C at a higher % than say the shotgun-happy Cards.
IMO that unexpected $10M+ Dalman windfall should funnel to DE.
LTs typically get paid, so I’d have no issue with a short-term Decker deal because the alternative is Parsons/Hutchinson/Turner-v-Benedet twice this year.
Personally, I’d much rather the Bears pay for LT, and DE.
Hendrickson is older and less effective vs run than Crosby, but he won’t cost draft picks.
Between him, Booker, and whatever Dayo can muster on one Achilles, should improve Bears’ D while keeping that #25 for any number of long term solutions at DT, DE, LT, C, S.
The other option is Poles opting for blue-bin specials.
If Poles decides to skip on day 1 splashes, players such as these could be solid additions:
Edge Jaelen Phillips
DE Rashan Gary [only 28]
Edge Mack
Edge Cam Jordan [Allen connection]
DT Rankins [Allen connection]
LBDemario Davis [Allen…]
C McGovern
DT Jonathan Allen…
Chicago Bears Network@bearsnetwork_ LB Alex Anzalone is a name to watch for the Bears in free agency, per Jeremy Fowler.
The #Rams and star S Kam Curl have agreed to terms on a new deal to keep him in Los Angeles before free agency, per The Insiders.
He gets a 3-year, $36M contract with a max value of $39M in a deal done by Milk and Honey Sports. A big week for LA’s secondary. pic.twitter.com/zCy7hhHXru
Going into the weekend, no doubt a slew of players will get released, traded, or retire than the current list, so definitely a time to refresh news’ feed. Should be exciting for us Bear fans!
TLDR Butch Moves.
Pay DE Hendrickson Pay LT Decker Pay DT Rankins/Allen Prolly go cheap at C, draft Prolly go cheap at SS, draft Trade Bagency, get athletic project Try to trade Kyler Gordon, NB draft Maybe rework/trade Kmet Resign Byard and Demarco Jackson Maaaybe see what we can get for CB Jaylon Johnson.
Time to totally remake roster in Ben Johnson image.
Update:
Gary Ross@gaross18-7h Courtney Cronin was on ESPN1000 this morning & said that she expects the Bears to get the comp picks for Cunningham. That would be HUGE!
Comp update: Bears are trading a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Patriots for Garrett Bradbury. https://t.co/XO6Bfg1yr0
