Bear Digest

Where the Bears are Weaker and Stronger After Free Agency's Mad Rush

The opening to free agency ended with Wednesday's conclusion of the legal tampering period and here's how the Bears stack up as free agency rolls on into the next phase.
Gene Chamberlain|
You need three tight ends and losing Durham Smythe (81) didn't hurt the Bears' passing game but did hurt their run-blocking.
You need three tight ends and losing Durham Smythe (81) didn't hurt the Bears' passing game but did hurt their run-blocking. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Free agency comes to the NFL in a mad rush, then settles down into a flow, and ends with a trickle.

The rush comes during the period just ended, the legalized tampering period up to the time when contacts get finalized with signatures on paper.

More and more each year, there is an earlier start to this process and it is because of increased trading just before the start of the legalized tampering period. The Bears have made good use of this the last two seasons.

As the steady flow of free agents continues, the money goes down. Fewer big names remain.

The end result of all of this is to set up the team for the draft and make clear the  areas they most need to address.

The early rush hasn't done a lot to improve their overall football ability but it has damaged one aspect of their team best described as an intangible area.

They had more experience and leadership leave the locker room than any team can usually stand to lose.

Kevin Byard, DJ Moore, and Tremaine Edmunds all had been captains at some point during their time with the Bears and are gone. Byard was a captain last year and all three had been in 2024. Drew Dalman was the center of the offensive line and responsible for line calls, a sort of quarterback on the blocking front.

Apparently they won't have Jaquan Brisker back as he remains one of the top unsigned safeties. With most of those graded higher gone, he could command a better price from some team.

This intangible can't be accounted for in analyzing the talent itself.

Here's where the Bears are better, weaker or uchanged after the initial mad rush of free agency.

Offensive Line: Weaker

Garrett Bradbury obviously can't compare to Dalman. Even though he has been in a Super Bowl, he accounts for less than half the salary cap hit Dalman did and was graded only as a mid-level center by Pro Football Focus. They have virtually the same left tackle crew but are worse than last season due to Ozzy Trapilo's injury. Getting Braxton Jones back, assuming he is now healthy, will provide experience but he's going to need to prove his blocking is back to 2023-24 levels. The addition of Jedrick Wills is a boost to training camp depth but he hasn't had a starter's share of plays since 2022 and missed last season injured. Think of him more as a Jordan McFadden type except at tackle instead of guard. He could be a swing tackle if they don't think of Theo Benedet for that role or if they intend to change Benedet's position to interior offensive lineman. Until Trapilo's return at full healthy, they're worse, and they would be anyway with Dalman gone.

Wide receiver: Weaker

You can't take the gutsiest big-play veteran out of the lineup and make up for what he did without adding the same qualities back into he mix. Moore played every receiver position, blocked and ran the ball out of the backfield or on end-around plays. The only way to prove they'd improved themselves or even be the same here is by playing some games because almost all of the other receivers are very young. They did get back an all-purpose gadget type in former Lions free agent Kalif Raymond, who knows Ben Johnson's offense better than his predecessor, Olamide Zaccheaus. He also catches the ball better. Still, he has always been regarded as a lesser target in the offense at Detroit and will be in Chicago.

Tight end: Weaker

They lost third tight end Durham Smythe, who was a blocking tight end and had only six targets. He signed with the Ravens. A third tight end doesn't seem important but the Bears lined up in 13-personnel packages (three tight ends) 8.52% of the time, the fifth most in the league per Sumer Sports Analytic. Someone is going to need to be the blocking tight end. Smythe wasn't regarded by Pro Football Focus as a better run blocker than Cole Kmet or Colston Loveland last year. Replacing him shouldn't be that hard but they haven't yet. This could still come from a lower-level free agent signing or they could let Stephen Carlson do it or turn to Nikola Kalinic, a Canadian college player added last year to their practice squad who they were very high on for his special teams abilities. Either way, they don't have the blocking experience now at third tight end that they had with Smythe.

Running back: Unchanged

Despite a lot of rumblings, D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai remain in place and Roschon Johnson is still the third after another season plagued injuries. Brittain Brown might be the third best back based on last year's efforts.

Quarterback: Unchanged

At least for now, it's the same personnel. Tyson Bagent trade discussion didn't amount to anything but give teams time from now until the draft to make a decision on personnel and they might make an offer the Bears can't refuse, like a Day 2 pick.

Defensive Line: Weaker

Defensive tackle can't be considered stronger when neither free agent addition—Kentavius Street or Neville Gallimore—played more than a third of their defensive plays over tackle or on the edge, and neither has been graded by PFF as even an average run defender. Gallimore is extremely fast for a big man but the two have been weak at stopping the run and improved nothing at a weak spot. As for an edge rusher ... well ... we're waiting. Bradley Chubb went off the board on Wednesday as more edges are vanishing. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Dominique Robinson have not signed back in Chicago and Robinson went to Houston. The two weren't very good, but at least they were warm bodies. Shemar Turner is still there but no one is sure where he plays or if he can after an ACL tear.

Linebacker: Unchanged

They made a change by releasing Tremaine Edmunds and signing Devin Bush. The difference is Bush produced more consistently as a run stopper last year and is very fast to the ball and in coverage. However, besides losing Edmunds' leadership, they give up 5 inches of height and a long reach in defending the pass. Signing back D'Marco Jackson is a positive, but he's not a net gain because he already was already part of this defense. It's probably more accurate to call them different at linebacker, but improvement isn't obvious at this point.

Secondary: Weaker

The empty spot at starting safety alongside new safety Coby Bryant makes it impossible to call this  better secondary. They added Cam Lewis but he's more of a slot cornerback or who can play some safety and a depth piece. Some will regard losing Nahshon Wright as weakening the roster. It is when not another outside cornerback has been added as a replacement. It might be Terell Smith or Zah Frazier but inexperience and injuries for both keep anyone from suggesting they can be what Wright was last year—a Pro Bowl player who left for only $5.5 million a year.

Special teams: Weaker

Raymond has been every bit as good or better than Devin Duvernay was as a punt returner. The net loss here is Duvernay was an above-average kick returner, too, and Raymond doesn't really do this. Also, Raymond is coming off a poor season as a punt returner. 

Overall: Weaker

It's an exaggeration to say they're weaker across the board. However, it's close to being weaker at every position. It's a good thing for Poles that the free agency period includes many lower-cost players who can still come in over the next month and a half before the draft and make a difference because the holes are there.

The goal should be to have their roster in a position where they're going to be obviously strengthened coming out of the draft. It looks a long way from that status at the moment.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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