Should the Bears Have Tried Harder to Retain Jaquan Brisker?

I truly can't make sense of the lack of league-wide interest in the Bears' former defensive backs on the open market this offseason. Nahshon Wright was the first to put pen to paper, as he signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Jets on Tuesday. Then Kevin Byard III signed a one-year, $9 million deal with the Patriots yesterday.

And now, Jaquan Brisker signed a one-year, $5.5 million prove-it deal of his own. He'll be taking the next step in his career with the Steelers.

The #Steelers have agreed to terms with S Jaquan Brisker, his agents @AndreOdom and @aj__stevens tell The Insiders. Former second-round pick of the #Bears headed to Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/Ky41RTthKa
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2026

All three contracts were cheap. Honestly, they're shockingly low, which makes me question what I saw last season. Byard and Wright both made the Pro Bowl (further proof that the honor means next to nothing in the big 2026) last year, did they not?!

Brisker's deal, in particular, makes me question my sanity. I truly cannot comprehend why there wasn't more interest in the hitman. I know he has a lengthy injury history, but that history really only played a major role in 2024.

He played 15 games in both of his first two seasons and is coming off the first season in which he played in all 17 games. I thought he answered the most important question asked of him and was going to cash in as a result. I fully expected him to sign for around $10 million per year. Seeing him sign for nearly half that value makes no sense at all to me.

The fact that the Bears weren't willing to bring him back at that price makes even less sense.

Now, I never expected the Bears to re-sign Brisker this offseason. However, that's because I thought his market was going to be much higher than it was. I thought he outplayed the price they'd be willing to pay him. It turns out they didn't see him as a fit.

I honestly feel like I've got Déjà vu. I wrote an eerily similar article two days ago, when it Nahshon Wright signed his deal (for the exact same amount) with the Jets.

With that said, I understood their decision to let Wright walk. He was incredibly opportunistic, but also very flawed. He's also nearing the end of his prime. There's less gray area when it comes to their decision to move on from Brisker, in my opinion.

At this price point, I find it difficult to view it as anything more than a mistake. I would understand not wanting to commit to Brisker long-term due to the health concerns, but the market clearly didn't justify that move, anyway. A one-year deal to prove that he can stay healthy (again) is a downright steal for everything he provides.

Now, I know he might not have been the perfect fit for Dennis Allen's defense (he tends to prefer more versatile safeties, and Brisker doesn't exactly have Deion Sanders' coverage chops), but he made up for it with his skills as a run defender. I also think they probably underutilized his ability as an extra rusher.

The sky is not falling yet, though. The offseason is still young. They want to improve their speed on defense, and I'm sure they want to get more versatile on the back end (the signing of Coby Bryant fortifies that notion).

Free agency is no longer a viable option to find a starting safety, but they can still locate a better fit in the draft. With that said, it's now even more important that they do that. Brisker was cheap. He was a lot cheaper than he probably should've been. They'll have some major regrets if they don't land an impact safety who can provide some juice from day one.