Fan-Favorite Jack Sanborn Returns to Bears on One-Year Deal

Unlike the 2025 NFL free agency period, when the Chicago Bears were universally lauded for the moves they made, Bears fans have been somewhat divided on how free agency has gone in 2026, with the Bears' first wave of free agency producing a mixed bag of signings and departures. However, general manager Ryan Poles has just made a move that will energize the fanbase on a slow Wednesday afternoon: fan-favorite linebacker Jack Sanborn is back and is signing a one-year deal with the Bears, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

The Bears announced two free agent signings. LB Jack Sanborn returns after spending the 2025 season in Dallas. James Lynch becomes the third DT the Bears have signed since the start of free agency. Both are one-year deals.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 18, 2026

Sanborn, who went undrafted through the 2022 NFL draft, spent the first three years of his career with the Bears. As an undrafted free agent who grew up just an hour away from Soldier Field, he was an immediate fan favorite, but he quickly became more than just an underdog with a spunky attitude. He finished his rookie season with 64 tackles and two sacks, earning a 71.1 PFF grade. In 2023, he recorded his first NFL interception in a Week 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs and returned it 42 yards.

After the 2024 NFL season, the Bears chose to let Sanborn walk in free agency, and he followed former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus to Dallas, where he once again endeared himself to the fan base. Some fans saw that Sanborn brought the exact mindset that their team needed. But after just one year with the Cowboys, a season in which he only played six games, Sanborn is back in Chicago, and he seems to be pretty happy about it.

Tell a friend to tell a friend...

HE'S BAAAAACK 😈 pic.twitter.com/He3BvA8jt3
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) March 18, 2026

Jack Sanborn has a long path to a starting role in Chicago

Unlike his first stint in Chicago, Sanborn is now a veteran who has a real chance at a starting role for an NFL defense. The Bears released Tremaine Edmunds before free agency started and found his replacement in a $30 million agreement with Devin Bush, but that's a bit of a gamble. If Bush's 2025 season proves to have been a fluke, the Bears will need a strong inside linebacker presence next to T.J. Edwards, and that's where Sanborn could excel.

Nothing will be handed to him, of course. He may be a fan favorite, but he has no experience with Chicago's current coaching staff. To defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, he's just another newcomer who is going to fight for a starting job. And it's not only Bush and Edwards standing in his way. The Bears re-signed D'Marco Jackson to a two-year deal, and he flashed a lot of promise last year when Edmunds was on IR.

But Sanborn is no stranger to fighting uphill battles. That's all he's been doing in his NFL career, and I do not doubt that he will make a strong case to be part of the starting eleven on defense.

The Bottom Line

Ryan Poles may not be making any big waves in free agency this year, but it's been a steady run of meat-and-potatoes moves over the past week and a half, the kind of signings that can make or break an NFL team's playoff chances. Postseason success often comes down to a matter of depth, and adding Sanborn to a refreshed linebacker corps gets an easy 'A' grade.

Jack Sanborn has a long path to a starting role in Chicago

The Bottom Line

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