Ranking the Chicago Bears' Most Likely Resign Candidates Entering the Offseason

The Bears are in a bit of a predicament when it comes to the salary cap. Following years of entering the offseason with almost too much money to spend, they find themselves sitting at roughly $17 million above the cap as it stands right now.

They'll have to make some wiggle room if they want to make any noise in free agency or, more importantly, resign any of their own pending free agents. That will be the first step on the agenda this offseason, as they have a few key free agents (specifically on the defensive side of the ball) who they should definitely bring back.

With that said, they won't be able to resign all of their key players. This isn't Madden. The salary cap may be fake (since it can be drastically manipulated), but it's also very real. The NFL is a business, and a few business decisions have to be made.

For this list, I decided to group their pending free agents into categories based on how likely they are to continue their career in Chicago. It's important to note that I'm not grading their overall impact. Everyone already knows Jaquan Brisker is more impactful than Durham Smythe (when healthy). I'm strictly focusing on how likely they are to return.

Which players are most likely to return for another run with the Bears?

Definitely won't return: C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Olamide Zaccheaus, Jonathan Owens, Joe Tryon-Shroyinka, Ryan Bates, Nick McCloud, Jaylon Jones

C.J. Gardner-Johnson is the only big name here. He would be a quality resign candidate if he enjoyed playing on the back end, which he definitely does not. CJGJ is much more comfortable playing in the slot, and the Bears don't need another expensive slot corner when Kyler Gordon is already the league's highest-paid nickelback.

Nick McCloud, Ryan Bates, Jaylon Jones, and Joe Tryon-Shroyinka will all be easy to say goodbye to. They provided virtually no impact this season (and McCloud, specifically, provided a negative impact whenever he was on the field). They'll need to replace Jonathan Owens presence on special teams and can replicate Zaccheaus's impact with a late-round draft pick if they choose to do so.

Unlikely to return: Jaquan Brisker, Braxton Jones, Devin Duvernay, Chris Williams, Travis Homer, Daniel Hardy, Dominique Robinson, Elijah Hicks

Jaquan Brisker is much closer to the "definitely won't return" category than the next one, but I still think there is a (very) slight chance of getting a deal done. I feel like they'll have some urgency to bring either him or Kevin Byard III back, but I see a much clearer path for the latter. I just think he outplayed how much they'll be able to pay him after playing a full season and saving his best performance (perhaps of his entire career) for the Divisional Round matchup.

Even with Ozzy Trapilo suffering a torn Achilles in the Wild Card matchup against Green Bay, I'd honestly be shocked if Jones gets brought back for another run. I don't think he'd be their likely choice for a one-year band-aid at the position. Not with how poorly he bounced back from the fractured fibula that he suffered late in the '24 season.

Travis Homer, Elijah Hicks, Daniel Hardy, and Devin Duvernay are all extremely valuable contributors on special teams. Ideally, their ST unit wouldn't want to lose all of them in one offseason, but that role usually comes with a lot of volatility from year to year. They probably feel like they can fill their respective roles through the draft (or even after it, as we saw this season with the addition of undrafted free agent Jahdae Walker).

Oh, and I'm personally ready for the Chris Williams experiment to end, but I'm not 100% confident they will be. They seem to see something in him that they like, even if it doesn't translate to Sundays.

Possible return candidates: Nahshon Wright, Jordan McFadden, Andrew Billings, Theo Benedet, Durham Smythe

I think Nahshon Wright has the longest odds of this group to return. The takeaway merchant made himself a lot of money this season, and the Bears aren't exactly in a position to throw a bag his way. With that said, with Al Harris appearing likely to run it back for another year, I couldn't justify closing that door completely. I could see a scenario where they make a few moves and bring him back on a slightly team-friendly deal. Definitely a long shot, but certainly possible.

As for the others, I think they could potentially make sense from a value perspective. They probably won't garner much money on the open market and have clearly defined roles that will require addressing in some fashion. They'll also have a huge hole to fill (literally and figuratively) at defensive tackle if they move on from Billings. Simply put, he's their only good space-eating DT, and they're already bad at stopping the run.

Jordan McFadden and Theo Benedet are in similar positions as offensive linemen who played key roles at certain points this season. I think the latter was a clear goner before Trapilo went down, but that injury opened the door for him to return on a cheap deal. I wouldn't love that decision, but they survived the first half of the season with him in the lineup. They might feel like he could improve his pass protection this offseason and be a much-needed band-aid until the big guy returns.

Definitely should return: D'Marco Jackson, Kevin Byard III

These are the two obvious ones, in my opinion. As you might've already known (or noticed here), the Bears could lose all four of their safeties this offseason. They need to find a way to bring at least one of them back, and Kevin Byard III should definitely be that one.

Byard might now be on the wrong side of 30, but he proved that he still has enough juice to make plays on the back end. He should have more than enough gas left in the tank for a two-year extension to finish out his career in Chicago. On top of his innate playmaking ability (which saw him lead the league with seven interceptions this year), he is also a valued leader on the defensive side of the ball.

D'Marco Jackson might not be as essential a resign candidate as Byard (two rookie safeties on the back end could be a recipe for disaster), but he's definitely a player the Bears should look to bring back.

You could make a case that Jackson was their best linebacker over the second half of the season, and the fact that he didn't put much on tape before that point means he will probably be much cheaper than he otherwise should be. He fits Dennis Allen's defense like a glove and would be a cost-effective option if they want to move on from Tremaine Edmunds this offseason (which they probably should).

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