One Pending Free Agent the Bears Must Re-Sign and One They Shouldn't

For the first time in many years, the Chicago Bears face a free agency period in which they must figure out how to keep most of their players. Propelled by Caleb Williams' breakout season in 2025, the Bears won the NFC North division title and even pulled off a miraculous Wild Card victory over the Green Bay Packers.

But the Bears' roster is already set to look radically different in 2026. Drew Dalman retired from the NFL after just one season with the Bears, Tremaine Edmunds has been released to free up some salary cap space, and DJ Moore has been traded to the Buffalo Bill, and we haven't even hit the legal tampering period of free agency yet.

The Bears still have several roster decisions to make, and with that in mind, let's highlight one pending free agent that they absolutely must re-sign, and one that needs to be allowed to walk.

Re-Sign: Kevin Byard III

After earning his third first-team All-Pro award, bringing back Kevin Byard III should be a no-brainer, especially when you look at the Bears' current safety situation. Not one safety from 2025 is under contract from 2026, which means the Bears will need at least two or three cheap options. The 2026 NFL draft has a strong safety class. The most logical thing to do, therefore, would be to bring back the decorated veteran on another two or three-year deal and allow him to mentor a young rookie.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that anyone should expect another seven-interception, All-Pro season from Byard. He will almost certainly regress to the mean in that category, but will still be a quality starter. Byard has said that his 'first choice' in free agency is to remain in Chicago, and general manager Ryan Poles needs to make that happen immediately.

Walk: Nahshon Wright

The biggest surprise of the Bears' season arguably came from cornerback Nahshon Wright. A third-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, he spent three years with Dallas and then one season on Minnesota's practice squad. He was cut by the Vikings last offseason and immediately signed by the Bears. He was only supposed to be a depth piece, but Chicago's secondary was decimated by injuries in training camp, forcing Wright into a starting role.

The rest is, as they say, history. In his first game as a Bear, Wright snagged a pick-six off Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the first of five interceptions in 2025 to go along with three fumble recoveries. He even ended the year as a Pro Bowler, a remarkable conclusion to a heartwarming underdog story.

However, this is the perfect time to thank Wright for his services and move on. He had a terrific season, and I'm not trying to take that away from him. However, there's a reason the Bears were his third team in as many years. When he wasn't taking the ball away, Wright was frequently out of position in coverage, giving up huge plays or getting penalized. The booms outweighed the busts in 2025, but that's not likely to happen again.

Once more for emphasis, I'm not taking away from Wright for an incredible season, but I have strong doubts that the 2025 version of Wright is what he'll be going forward, and I don't think the Bears should be the ones to roll the dice on a big contract.

Re-Sign: Kevin Byard III

Walk: Nahshon Wright

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter