Bear Digest

Chicago Bears Land a Tough Blow for Amon-Ra St. Brown to Take

This pairing of Kalif Raymond with the Bears and Ben Johnson has seemed an obvious one well before free agency arrived for several numerous reasons.
Gene Chamberlain|
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond scores a touchdown against the Bears at Soldier Field.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond scores a touchdown against the Bears at Soldier Field. | Quinn Harris-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

It's always good to sign a free agent who adds to the roster but also detracts from a divisional opponent.

The Bears have apparently done this with the reported signing of Lions free agent receiver/return man Kalif Raymond.

Signing wide receiver Kalif Raymond looks on the surface like a move made by Bears GM Ryan Poles for experience to pair with a draft pick at receiver as the Bears try to replace both DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus.

The explosive player would be a draft pick, and the insurance policy is Raymond.

A $5.1 million contract for one season is a lot for a fourth or fifth receiver. It's clear Raymond is much more than this, though coach Ben Johnson got a pet trouble maker and gadget guy to plague defenses, and also a possible replacement for return man Devin Duvernay. 

The Bears only  paid Duvernay $1.2 millon last year to return kick and punts. They only paid $1.5 million or Zaccheaus. But Raymond is so much more than a 31-year-old receiver and former Pro Bowl return man who is coming off what was his worst year returning punts.

Not only is it good or the Bears to remove a weapon the Lions had, but Raymond is the anti-Zaccheaus.

When the season ended, Johnson pointed to one area in particular they needed to be better at in the passing game and fundamentals are always big in his mind.

"When I think about being fundamentally sound, we have to do a better job catching the football next year," Johnson said. "And I can tell you right now, that'll be a point of emphasis for us when they come back in the springtime."

This was definitely a problem with Zaccheaus as he had five dropped passes and some others who anyone with better glasses would have labeled drops. He has 10 drops in his last two seasons alone.

Raymond, meanwhile, has dropped seven passes in nine NFL  season. He hadn't always been regarded as a bigger part of an offense but was as soon as he got to Detroit, and especially when Johnson became offensive coordinator.

Zaccheaus had 15 first-down catches last year, one behind Bears leaders Colston Loveland and Rome Odunze. This appears to be something they can't get from Raymond, "appears" being the key word.

Raymond only had four, five and nine third-down receptions  the last three seasons.

However, in Johnson's first season as Detroit offensive coordinator, Raymond made 16 third-down catches. After they got Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs, he didn't need to do it as much. Raymond had 12 third-down catches in 2021, the same total DJ Moore had last season for the Bears.

Basically, the Bears are getting whatever they need Raymond to be. It's how he's always operated and his willingness to block at 180 pounds says this

Apparently the Bear are also getting a good locker room presence  based on the tweet by Detroit teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown calling him his "greatest teammate."

Look for Johnson to find ways to use Raymond in the attack even if they do draft a receiver, but the past says Raymond can find a way to be a contributor besides returning punts. He was pretty good at that, too, as Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower always seemed to remind before every Lions game.

What Raymond doesn't really do is return kicks. He can and has on rare occasion, but that could leave an opening for Duvernay's return or some other Bears player to contribute.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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