Tag: Free Agency

  • FA Thurs ’26

    FA Thurs ’26

    Bears’ new free-agent signings

    S Coby Bryant
    LB Devin Bush
    C Garrett Bradbury (’27 5th RDer)
    DT Neville Gallimore
    WR Kalif Raymond
    DB Cam Lewis
    DE Kentavius Street
    OT Jedrick Wills Jr.

    Bears who re-signed
    LT Braxton Jones
    QB Case Keenum
    LB D’Marco Jackson
    S Elijah Hicks
    DE Daniel Hardy

    Former Bears who signed elsewhere
    S Kevin Byard (signed with Patriots)
    CB Nahshon Wright (signed with Jets)
    LB Tremaine Edmunds (signed with Giants)
    WR Olamide Zaccheaus (signed with Falcons)
    DE Dominique Robinson (signed with Texans)
    DT Chris Williams (signed with Falcons)
    TE Durham Smythe (signed with Ravens)

    Bears’ free agents who remain unsigned
    DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (Void)
    OL Ryan Bates (Void)
    DT Andrew Billings (UFA)
    LB Amen Ogbongbemiga (UFA) (released by Bears)
    S Jonathan Owens (UFA)
    S Jaquan Brisker (UFA)
    RB Travis Homer (UFA)
    CB Nick McCloud (UFA)
    LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (UFA)
    CB Jaylon Jones (UFA)
    LS Scott Daly (UFA)
    WR Devin Duvernay (UFA)
    S C.J. Gardner-Johnson (UFA)
    OL Jordan McFadden (RFA)
    LB Ty Summers (SFA)
    C Ricky Stromberg (SFA)

    Trust in Poles? For those who want to keep picks to draft the next Richard Dent

    TW@Tylow237
    ·
    Sweat- 2nd rd pick traded; 4 years $98M

    Dayo- 3 years $48M

    Grady- 3 years $43.5M

    Dexter- 2nd rd pick

    Shemar- 2nd rd pick

    That’s three 2nd rd picks and $189.5M invested only to be the worst DL in the NFL. Well done, Ryan Poles!

    Free agent Defensive Lineman signed by Poles so far

    • Grady Jarrett
    • Dayo Odeyingbo
    • Yannick Ngakoue
    • Justin Jones
    • Andrew Billings
    • Al Quadin-Muhammad
    • Kentavious Street
    • Neville Gallimore

    At some point he needs to invest heavily in the trenches [Poles has invested, just badly]

    Hey, apparently, Dayo don’t care about sacks, pressures, TFLs, FFs, fumble recoveries, INTs, tipped passes, strips, tackles, stats, staying healthy, or any of your vein honors. He is now Motivated Dayo!

    Best DL options remaining for the #Bears:

    Free agency

    Cam Jordan
    Joey Bosa
    D.J. Wonnum
    D.J. Reader

    Trades

    Maxx Crosby
    Jonathan Greenard
    Kayvon Thibodeaux
    Josh Sweat
    Myles Garrett (?)

    OT:

  • Unoffical FA ’26

    Unoffical FA ’26

    Even Twitter will be struggling to accurately relay all the transactions, so this shall be an open thread to follow moves.

    roy_OTC@TexansCap
    Daniel Hardy signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Bears worth a base value of $4.97 million with $2.45 million guaranteed at signing.

    Aaron Leming@AaronLemingNFL
    After this move, the #Bears roster sits at 53. Not counting draft class, etc, they’re now at $25.313M in cap space.


    Thus far, I’ve been sorta right. “Cheap” C. Maybe a DT/DE. Brisker, DJ, Edmunds, Brisker…via con dios.

    You know I’m not exactly a Poles-truther [shoulda been fired with Flus], but he’s not Pace at least. He tends to show discipline while taking chances on Side B players like Dayo, Jarrett, even Sweat with mixed results. One may counter, “Ah, but Thuney was premier, as was Dalman.” Well, Poles only ponied up a 4rth for Thuney and didn’t exactly overpay Dalman who retired anyways. OTOH, Pace likely throws two 1st rounders and DJ for Maxx Crosby or backs up the Brinks’ truck for Trey Hendrickson.

    I simply don’t see that in Poles’ DNA. He’s not a rapper at a strip-club making it rain. He’s more like the frugal business man waiting for the 2-for-1 lapdance specials on a Tuesday.
    It could happen, but I’ll be surprised.

    As such, I don’t exactly believe Poles will land a Peppers-Mack tier player. If the right situation pops, perhaps, but I suspect Poles isn’t going to leverage the future like his predecessors. His job isn’t on the line this year.

    Poles will practice due diligence. He monitored the price of Crosby, Linderbaum and McGovern and swiped left.

    I’m certain Poles will gauge the market on Hendrickson, Phillips, Carter…or other possible trade partners not on the radar, but my gut tells me he stays the course, keeps his cap and draft picks, then ‘settles’ for more B-sides maximum potential and flexibility. No doubt not splurging will rile up the natives. Doing your taxes cleanly isn’t sexy.

    One other major difference between 2024 and 2026 is Ben Johnson; he, not Eberflus, is the fail-safe. Maybe even the boss like Tony Soprano while Poles is merely the puppet-boss Junior, in which case, I have much more hope considering the results of 2024 vs 2025.

    So, excuse me while I doom scroll at the Bada Bing between “Cherry Pie” and “Girls Girls Girls”…

  • Bears Sign C.J. Gardner Johnson

    Bears Sign C.J. Gardner Johnson

    Yes, THAT C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Besides Javon Wimms punching him, C.J. also got the immortal Anthony Miller ejected from a playoff game.

    C.J. Gardner-Johnson most definitely has been productive when on the field.

    He’s big [5’11, 210], long and rangy. Still relatively young [27]. Versatile: can cover, tackle, blitz – play FS, CB, and NB. This helps with the uncertainty of both Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson [NTM J.J.]. Playing for Dennis Allen on the Saints also greatly expedites his learning curve which is, uhhhmm, about 4 days.

    He absolutely contributed to the Eagles’ SB run; they still love him in Philly [fits right in], but now C.J. has become a journeyman, and it isn’t for lack of talent, so what gives?

    Character flags.

    He’s a mouthy agitator on the field, and who the hell knows what off it, but Allen [who greenlit drafting him] and Ben Johnson apparently believe they can manage him.

    I like this signing. It’s a high upside-immediate need move that didn’t cost any draft capital or major cap.

    If C.J. wears out his welcome in a month, well, hopefully by then Stevenson and Gordon are healthy.

    This also is more evidence that B.J. seems more in charge of roster build than Ryan Poles. As we all know, most Bear GMs only want Boy Scouts. Now, this could simply be ‘any swinging d*%k’ desperation at DB, but it could foreshadow that future Bears may not have to be Ned Flanders.

    In addition Bears signed DE Jonathan Garvin to PS [probably because Shemar Turner was put on IR with a torn ACL while Dominque Robinson is sidelined for a few weeks with a high-ankle strain].

    Garvin’s 6’4, 257, 26 yrs old and was the 242nd overall pick in ’20.

    Chicago signed native CB Dallis Flowers. 6’1, 196, UFDA, 28 who also returns kicks [ran a 4.43].

    TE Steven Carlson [mostly a blocking TE/FB] also back.

    Overtime:

    ‘Caleb won’t bust. He’s too talented for that. The bigger fear is that he turns into Kyler Murray or Trevor Lawrence – a QB who fails to live up to expectations but still starts. A guy who’s going to cost $45M/yr to be the 15th best QB’ – Danny Parkins

    I honestly don’t know what’s the best solution to get Caleb Williams out of this funk. Y’all know my M.O.

    Sit them as rooks for as long as humanly possible, preferably a whole year like Mahomes. Needless to say, this assumes competent coaching and continuity which Poles failed to provide Caleb.

    However, plenty of QBs who started day 1 have prospered [Peyton, Burrow, et al], so playing through the rough times is equally viable.

    I sorta suspect the benching Caleb so he can learn ship has sailed [like his accuracy. Zing!]

    In for a penny, in for a pound, comes to mind.

    That being said, if B.J. decides Caleb needs to sit for a few games, then fine. For those arguing Caleb can’t learn anything from a brief sabbatical or a younger player, Sam Darnold partially credited his turn-around to learning from a younger Brock Purdy, specifically about being more of a point-guard as opposed to an ESPN highlight. Sound familiar?

    Most likely outcome will be Caleb keeps taking his lumps and hopefully progressing.

    Either way, I just want Caleb to ball.
    It would suck major azz to know Maye, Daniels and Bo were better options.

    Helllllooo drafting Cendrunk instead of Rodgers, Trubisky over Mahomes….

    With that in mind

  • Bears sign UDFA DE Xavier Carlton

    Bears sign UDFA DE Xavier Carlton

    Signing a UDFA this late into camp likely isn’t going to turn many heads, but hey, it’s a Bear move and piques my interest. He’s not a RAS champ, that’s for sure, but at 6’5, 273 with 34″ arms, gives something Dennis Allen can mold.

    Here’s some pertinent twits on him:

    Here’s Slim Sports interviewing Xavier Carlton

  • Embrace the Darkness

    Embrace the Darkness

    Here’s a poll:

    If you were Poles, would you sign Aaron Rodgers for a $1?

    Now, I know what you’re saying [or cursing]

    ‘Never happen, Butch’

    But think about it. BOTH the Vikings and Packers spurned him, and as the saying goes

    “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”

    Rodgers would get the chance to stick it to both teams in at least 4 games [+ playoffs]

    Can you imagine anyone more motivated? Imagine Rodgers doing the WWF Belt Celebration as a Bear at Lambeau with Favre in attendance…

    If thou protest, “This will totally piss off Caleb!” think again. Caleb said his idol was Rodgers and modeled his game after him. Who passes up a chance to play with his idol?

    You wanted a vet QB to ‘mentor’ Caleb, there ya go!

    Plus, stop me if you heard this before…this will allow Caleb to learn Ben Johnson’s O from the bench for however long Rodgers lasts

    If Rodgers reverts to MVP form, great! Bears would be pulling a Packers in grooming QBs behind HOFers

    If Rodgers keeps playing like an old woman, then who’s more popular than the backup QB? A prepped Caleb Skywalker to the rescue, flipping through mid-air whilst catching a light-saber

    If ANY player would take a $1 out of petty vengeance, it’s Aaron “Darkness” Rodgers


    Spark up the ayahuasca!