Bears Free Agents

[adam]

Here are the Bears Free Agents heading into the offseason.

Counting Special Teams, the Bears have 5 starters that are UFAs. Daly and Duvernay are low salaries guys that can be brought back with little cap considerations. So that leaves Brisker, Byard, and Wright. Out of those 3, I would bring back Byard, he should be the cheapest of the 3 and gives you the most in terms of performance and leadership. Brisker played a great game against the Rams but is too big of an injury risk with his concussion history. Wright started out on fire, then got burnt for the back half of the season.

Unrestricted Free Agents

S Jaquan Brisker - Injury risk, pass

S Kevin Byard - I would resign to a 2-yr deal, team leader, still playing at a high level

CB Nashon Wright - subtract the INTs and you have a bad DB

LS Scott Daly - resign to near vet min deal

WR Devin Duvernay - resign to near vet min deal, unless you think you can get more out of this position

DL Andrew Billings - gone, old, fat, and slow.

CB Elijah Hicks - If signed will be for near league min deal

RB Travis Homer - If signed will be for near league min deal

LB D'Marco Jackson - I would resign him if you are playing on keeping DA, Jackson played well as the next man up

OT Braxton Jones - cant see them resigning him

DB Jaylon Jones - If signed will be for near league min deal

QB Case Keenum - Bring him back if you think he can still provide guidance, with Caleb entering Year 3, might not be needed anymore 

CB Nick McCloud - Please don't resign this turnstile, contributed directly to at least 3 of the Bears losses

S Jonathan Owens - Meh

Edge Dominique Robinson - Never consistent enough

TE Durham Smythe - Solid TE3

Edge Joe Tryon-Shoyinka - Made a couple of plays, doubt you have money for rotational Edges over league min

DL Chris Williams - DT Room needs an upgrade from top to bottom

WR Olamide Zaccheaus - Impressed in training camp and early on, then fell off a cliff. Doubt he is back.

 

Restricted/Exclusive-Rights Free Agents

LT Theo Benedet - cool story, but depends on the cost

Edge Daniel Hardy - ST Specialist, only sign if he is getting ST level money

LB Noah Sewell - Injuries and terrible in coverage

[Lucky Luciano]

2 hours ago, adam said:

Here are the Bears Free Agents heading into the offseason.

S Jaquan Brisker - Injury risk, pass - ONLY IF VERY REASONABLE CONTRACT

S Kevin Byard - I would resign to a 2-yr deal, team leader, still playing at a high level - KEEP

CB Nashon Wright - subtract the INTs and you have a bad DB - maybe as a safety??

L Andrew Billings - gone, old, fat, and slow. - ADIOS

OT Braxton Jones - cant see them resigning him - ADIOS

Restricted/Exclusive-Rights Free Agents

LT Theo Benedet - cool story, but depends on the cost - KEEP IF POSSIBLE

 

 

[Stinger226]

You add great content to this group always do a good job Adam. One thing I didn't like was your description of Billings - old fat and slow, that describes me. ( Joking ) 

Definitely Byard, defensive leader and durable.

Brisker if signed on a one year prove it deal.( Can stay healthy as AZ suggested) 

If you bring these two back, you can draft a couple rookies and won't have to count on them right away. 

For DBs JJ and Gordon will be healthy next year. Stevenson ( I think one more year on contract) , Blackwell and Terrell Smith will be back. So Wright is optional if they think will get better. Also Zak Fraiser comes back but who knows how good he is.

At LB, Edwards was just given a new contract last year but Edmunds being traded or cut will leave a spot opened. I think D Jackson will be resigned to take over for Edmunds ( cheaper) . Amen and Hyppolite are still on the roster. Got nothing out of Hyppolite but players are developed so maybe next year a lot better. 

Not sure why anyone would think DA is a question, I think he did very well considering all the injuries, no continuity. You add a pass rush and that makes his job a lot easier.

Gardener -Johnson doesn't handle speed very well but is a physical player. Anyone think he can play SS? . Maybe him instead of Brisker? Just thinking out loud.

The only DL I think may come back is Joe Tryon-S. On limited snaps he made some plays and was in NO when DA was there. Booker, Sweat Dayo and Turner, so if in a cheap deal for depth.

Everyone wants Crosby but I think Symmons from Tennessee would be a great addition if we have to pay a big contract. 

I think we draft 2 DTs and one edge.

[adam]

2 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

Everyone wants Crosby but I think Symmons from Tennessee would be a great addition if we have to pay a big contract. 

I think we draft 2 DTs and one edge.

Trades are definitely better. Here are the top FA Edge options:

Adafe Oweh - 28, 7.5 sacks, 48.7% of snaps
Trey Hendrickson - 32, 4 sacks, 26% of snaps
Khalil Mack - 35, 5.5 sacks, 41.7% of snaps
Joey Bosa - 31, 5 sacks, 57.2% of snaps
Jacob Martin - 31, 5.5 sacks, 61.5% of snaps
Jihad Ward - 32, 5 sacks, 66.7% of snaps
Jaelan Phillips - 27, 5 sacks, 74.5% of snaps

[Stinger226]

3 hours ago, adam said:

Trades are definitely better. Here are the top FA Edge options:

Adafe Oweh - 28, 7.5 sacks, 48.7% of snaps
Trey Hendrickson - 32, 4 sacks, 26% of snaps
Khalil Mack - 35, 5.5 sacks, 41.7% of snaps
Joey Bosa - 31, 5 sacks, 57.2% of snaps
Jacob Martin - 31, 5.5 sacks, 61.5% of snaps
Jihad Ward - 32, 5 sacks, 66.7% of 
Jaelan Phillips - 27, 5 sacks, 74.5% of snaps

I think they are more likely to go DT in FA or to trade for and will address it in the draft. We have some assets at edge but almost empty in the middle. Whoever suggested bulking up Dexter to be the nose tackle is a great idea and get a 3 T in here.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

2 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I think they are more likely to go DT in FA or to trade for and will address it in the draft. We have some assets at edge but almost empty in the middle. Whoever suggested bulking up Dexter to be the nose tackle is a great idea and get a 3 T in here.

 I really liked Tankathons last draft.   

Pick one might be better getting a 3T, like Christian Miller, Ga.

I might be greedy and take Alex Singleton RB if there rd 3. He seems like a good fit to replace Swift in time. But I'd be happy getting a NT like Corleone.

1- TJ Parker DE

2- Dillon Theineman S

3- Dontay Corleone DT 

4- Alex Harkey OT 

[Stinger226]

15 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

 I really liked Tankathons last draft.   

Pick one might be better getting a 3T, like Christian Miller, Ga.

I might be greedy and take Alex Singleton RB if there rd 3. He seems like a good fit to replace Swift in time. But I'd be happy getting a NT like Corleone.

1- TJ Parker DE

2- Dillon Theineman S

3- Dontay Corleone DT 

4- Alex Harkey OT 

I think Poles probably surprises us but it won't be a RB. More likely in later rounds for a RB. I think they will look for a speed guy that can contribute on STs and be the third back. Swift is 27 and doesn't have lots of mileage on his body. I think they might extend him for a yr or two and get some Cap for next year.

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

5 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I think Poles probably surprises us but it won't be a RB. More likely in later rounds for a RB. I think they will look for a speed guy that can contribute on STs and be the third back. Swift is 27 and doesn't have lots of mileage on his body. I think they might extend him for a yr or two and get some Cap for next year.

 

I'd prefer to move on from Swift instead of more years.  Seems like he dogged it until Monongai showed us what can be done.  They also switched up the run scheme. If a 7th round rookie can light it up, imagine a top tier prospect with speed. 

[Stinger226]

19 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

I'd prefer to move on from Swift instead of more years.  Seems like he dogged it until Monongai showed us what can be done.  They also switched up the run scheme. If a 7th round rookie can light it up, imagine a top tier prospect with speed. 

I think everyone think he was just average until BJ come and revive his career. Way to good to let go now. Low mileage.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

2 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

I think everyone think he was just average until BJ come and revive his career. Way to good to let go now. Low mileage.

How close do you think Monongai is to Swift? Maybe 60 swift/40 monongai? Next year that could flip.  Draft one somewhere in rd 3-7 and when Swifts contract is up at the end of 2026 season he walks and the rookie is seasoned to shine with Monongai. The offense wont be totally off hands come draft.  They can go WR(DJ), RB (DS), TE (CK), or OL to start prepping. They cannot keep all the vets, great teams know how to cycle.

[BearFan PHX]

Swift is a decent RB, but with no blocking he doesnt do much, and with good blocking he looks great.

Most RBs are like that.

[Stinger226]

We are on the verge of a top 3 offense in the league, could be highest scoring team in the league, I don't see them dismantling it. Twerks not rebuilding it IMO.

Depth has shown to have value with every WR being dinged up. Swift missed a game, Monangai had an injury. 

DJ, Swift and Kmet all gone?

If they trade people it will be around draft day , with everyone they trade it forces you to use a pick on that position. 

Poles said today that Ozzy won't be available until later in the season. I think that could mean a high pick for a LT. 

 

[BearFan PHX]

We spent top draft picks on Williams, Odunze, Loveland, Burden and Wright. No one is dismantling the offense. Those are our core players.

Moore, Swift and Kmet were/are all place holders until someone better comes along. None iof them s the kind of stud that those players I listed above can grow to be.

If Swift were to suddenly just disappear, replacing him would not be an impossible task. It mostly relies on the run blocking from the OL anyway. But you could find someone to pair with Monangai and be fine. He will probably stick around, he's not getting paid THAT much, but he's not a top 5 back. He's a decent vet.

Meanwhile this team is going NOWHERE without a pass rush, and we arent finding a player with the 25th pick that ready to be a league wrecker on day 1. We may well draft DL with our first round pick. I wouldnt be shocked if our first three picks go to defense. But we need a veteran who can reliably pressure the QB from day one if we are going to take Caleb seriously.

Every starter on the 1985 team replaced someone who came before them. I'm sure someone was crying about their predecessors, but no one really ever talks about any of them anymore. But they do remember that 85 team. So lets build a winner and stop hanging on to every mid level vet thats ont he roster like theyre gold, and trust Johnson to tell Poles who to get to replace them.

 

[BearFan PHX]

 

[Stinger226]

I get everyone's point but I disagree on what they might do going forward. I just don't like everyone using DJ as the whipping boy when  he has made lots of big plays this season. I'm not making excuses, he clearly didn't finish the route.

Let's say Poles tries to trade him. Who wants a high paid WR ( according to half the fan base) is a quitter.  

Antonio Brown was a person with character flaws  bitched when he didn't get the targets. Wouldn't play hurt. I just haven't seen the that from DJ. 

Pickens is a great WR but is clearly a me guy and most fans wouldn't want him here.

Lots of Me guys playing WR over the years. Eagles have one now in Brown. 

I actually do think smart football GMs may want DJ because he is a team player, blocks, runs the ball. A big YAC guy, lots of production.

All this he's a quitter is not making trading him easier.

[BearFan PHX]

First off, no one is using anyone as a whipping boy - thats when you unfairly blame someone. This correct analysis of DJ Moore is fair and deserved. Did you see what JT OSullivan called that play? "F--- You effort" was what he called DJ's lack of caring.

When you use someone as a whipping boy that means you have some psychological issue: that youre a bully. So again, noticing DJs faults is not a matter of the person noticing them being mean, or unfair or psychologically deficient. It's because DJ has taken a lot of plays off. Hes been lazy and not reliable.

Secondly, GMs around the league see the tape. They dont need posters on this site to tell them what is true about DJ, so the idea that we all need to pretend hes not flawed so its easier to trade him is nuts. its just another way to try to stop people saying anything negative.

This is feeling very Justin Fields all over again. Here on a Bears discussion board it really is OK to say one of the players isnt giving a consistent effort. It's not traitorous. Its not a sign of a psychological deficiency. It's just an opinion, widely held by many so called experts too.

But most of all, it's on the film.

And as for his cap number - this trade scenario was easy to see the moment we drafted Luther Burden. We were talking about this in July - remember?

I remember saying that DJ, Kmet and Swift were on the bubble. And so they are. It wasnt dark magic, or a crystal ball. It wasnt someone saying they are smarter than everyone or being mean. It's just there in the contracts and salary cap numbers.

Now I gotta admit, Swift has played well. Im not saying that because suddenly Im a psychological lover. Its just because his performance on tape is what it is. Some day he will be replaced, but i think he played himself back on the roster - doing things id really not seen from him before. But Kmet? He didnt play up to his cap number, and Dj surely hasnt either.

This isnt about being nice or mean. We have to get past these simplistic and childish ways of looking at player evaluations. The tape and the contracts can and will decide the plan going forward.

And if you wanted a culture and accountability - then here's our chance to stand by those words.

And anyway, even if we dont, Ben Johnson isnt gonna play games. He knows what time it is.