Steelers Rumor Reveals Why Pittsburgh Was 'Shocked' With Ex-Bears DB Jaquan Brisker

It's safe to say the Chicago Bears were also shocked about the details of Jaquan Brisker signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Former Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

One of the key departures for the Chicago Bears in free agency this offseason was safety Jaquan Brisker, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Granted, the expectation was that Brisker wouldn't be back, but that didn't erase the fact that his departure left a void the Bears needed to fill. Taking it a step further, the Bears let Kevin Byard walk in free agency, also.

The Bears did make a significant addition at the position, though, with the team signing former Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant, who head coach Ben Johnson is very high on.

But the Bears haven't added an adequate replacement for the other starting spot next to Bryant, so that's something general manager Ryan Poles has to address. The expectation is he will address that position at some point in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Steelers 'shocked' at Brisker's price

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When Brisker signed his one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Steelers, it was at least a bit surprising he went for that cheap. What was more surprising is the Bears weren't willing to pay Brisker's price.

Bears fans weren't alone in being shocked at Brisker's price. Even the Steelers could not believe they got him for as cheap as they did, according to Steelers insider Mark Kaboly.

“Safeties are strange, especially in free agency. You’ve got a handful of top-level ones, and then even the ones that are not much worse or are in that second tier get paid a whole hell of a lot less,” Kaboly said on the Kaboly+Mack podcast. “Like the Jaquan Briskers, who the Steelers were just shocked that they were able to get him for $5.5 million. There’s no way that they thought — I know that they didn’t think that they’d get him for $5.5 million.”

Kaboly tells no lies about the safety position. We've seen cases like Brisker's far too often, where the expectation is a player at the position is expected to do better than he ends up doing. There is a steep drop-off between the elite safeties and everyone else.

Why did the Bears let Brisker walk?

Former Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was on the Bears not bringing Brisker back all along, although he didn't give a clear answer why Chicago wouldn't keep him.

“I think I’ve been pretty adamant all along that I don’t think there’s a future with the organization for Jaquan Brisker,” Biggs said. “I think they’re moving on there."

Brisker was a good safety for the Bears and played well in his final season in Chicago, which makes it even more surprising that the Bears didn't re-sign him at the aforementioned price.

We're sure the Bears have their reason, but that reason hasn't been made clear publicly.