The Bears 2025 Free Agency Thread

[Lake Shore Drive]

I really should have started this thread before the draft thread, being that free agency will take place before the draft. Unfortunately this season confirmed we could improvement within pretty much every unit on the team, with perhaps no greater need than the OL. It's been mentioned in a number of articles that aside from Darnell Wright at RT, just about every other spot on the line is up for grabs. Assuming Poles will not pursue Jenkins and/or if Jones is not the answer at LT, then let's face it, there's no way to fill four spots just thru the draft. He'll have to ink at least a couple of free agents, and likely starters at that. And let's keep in mind that there are other positions of need, either as starters or adding depth that we'll need to fill this offseason.

Here's a list of all the pending free agents from just the current wildcard playoff teams, courtesy of Bears Wire:

NFL free agency: 63 targets in wild-card playoffs

Here are some pending free agents the Bears could target from the 2025 NFL wild-card playoffs.

bearswire.usatoday.com

Without any kind of a dive into this group, it's a fair guess to say many of these FAs are either past their prime or if not, then will most likely be re-signed by their respective teams. And of course it's not a complete list, but at least a starting point.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

An early take on some potential FA signings:

3 free agents Bears must sign to get the most out of Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams

Now that the Bears have Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams together, they should sign these key free agents to get the most out of the offense.

beargoggleson.com

Of the three, Will Fries is the most intriguing. Naturally, he'd have to pass what I'd expect to be a tough physical, but if he did, that could be a sneaky-good signing. Marquise Brown has some serious afterburners and Lawdy knows we could use such speed in the WR group - let's face it, Tyler Scott, our only real scooter of the bunch, has been a complete bust. He has a year left on his contract, but it's chump change relatively speaking, and for all we know the Bears just might cut him. Brown is still relatively young entering his age 28 season. I'm not all that confident that the Bears will re-sign Allen and I'd prefer not to use one of our higher draft picks on a WR. Scherff has had a solid career, even if he's now on the downside of it.

 

[Jiddy]

An early take on some potential FA signings:

3 free agents Bears must sign to get the most out of Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams

Now that the Bears have Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams together, they should sign these key free agents to get the most out of the offense.

beargoggleson.com

Of the three, Will Fries is the most intriguing. Naturally, he'd have to pass what I'd expect to be a tough physical, but if he did, that could be a sneaky-good signing. Marquise Brown has some serious afterburners and Lawdy knows we could use such speed in the WR group - let's face it, Tyler Scott, our only real scooter of the bunch, has been a complete bust. He has a year left on his contract, but it's chump change relatively speaking, and for all we know the Bears just might cut him. Brown is still relatively young entering his age 28 season. I'm not all that confident that the Bears will re-sign Allen and I'd prefer not to use one of our higher draft picks on a WR. Scherff has had a solid career, even if he's now on the downside of it.

The center sounds like a similar situation to the Connor Williams guy last offseason….who retired on his team midseason.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Gotta fix the OL and add some to the defense.

 

[richig07]

I really should have started this thread before the draft thread, being that free agency will take place before the draft. Unfortunately this season confirmed we could improvement within pretty much every unit on the team, with perhaps no greater need than the OL. It's been mentioned in a number of articles that aside from Darnell Wright at RT, just about every other spot on the line is up for grabs. Assuming Poles will not pursue Jenkins and/or if Jones is not the answer at LT, then let's face it, there's no way to fill four spots just thru the draft. He'll have to ink at least a couple of free agents, and likely starters at that. And let's keep in mind that there are other positions of need, either as starters or adding depth that we'll need to fill this offseason.

Here's a list of all the pending free agents from just the current wildcard playoff teams, courtesy of Bears Wire:

NFL free agency: 63 targets in wild-card playoffs

Here are some pending free agents the Bears could target from the 2025 NFL wild-card playoffs.

bearswire.usatoday.com

Without any kind of a dive into this group, it's a fair guess to say many of these FAs are either past their prime or if not, then will most likely be re-signed by their respective teams. And of course it's not a complete list, but at least a starting point.

The lineman make sense.

Brown does as well. I like Allen and hope we retain him. I actually think he has quite a bit left - despite not posting the numbers. That being said, we've lacked a vertical threat in this offense for quite some time. You have to go back to early Darnell Mooney to find that.

One of the most frustrating parts of the Bears offense for quite some time is the lack of explosiveness. Scoring a touchdown requires so many things to go right. We must methodically pick up first downs, move the chains, avoid negative plays, avoid penalties, convert multiple 3rd downs, etc. It seems like we NEVER, EVER break big plays.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Gotta fix the OL and add some to the defense.

Which is why I said Poles will have no choice but to hit up free agency. There's no way he'll solve the OL in a single season thru the draft. That's not to say he shouldn't draft OL, but he'll need help from the free agent market. I thought at the beginning of this past season the help needed on defense was only at DE and to a lesser extent, DT. But our secondary will also need to improve as well.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Which is why I said Poles will have no choice but to hit up free agency. There's no way he'll solve the OL in a single season thru the draft. That's not to say he shouldn't draft OL, but he'll need help from the free agent market. I thought at the beginning of this past season the help needed on defense was only at DE and to a lesser extent, DT. But our secondary will also need to improve as well.

Oh, I didn't mean to say just draft OL....combination....

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Oh, I didn't mean to say just draft OL....combination....

I know, I was simply reinforcing your point that we need help big time on the OL.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Chargers' Khalil Mack will enter free agency, play in 2025: Report

After the Chargers' loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round on Jan. 11, the 33-year-old Mack said he would take some time to decide his future. Apparently, he decided he has more football left to play.

sports.yahoo.com

Based on what the article stated, it sounds like Mack would be more than happy to remain with the Chargers - if the price is right. Not sure the man has more than one or two quality seasons tops left in him, so he probably best fits a team who's already playoff material and just needs that extra oomph to get over the top. But if Poles were to somehow snag him, I certainly wouldn't bitch about it.

 

[Jiddy]

Which is why I said Poles will have no choice but to hit up free agency. There's no way he'll solve the OL in a single season thru the draft. That's not to say he shouldn't draft OL, but he'll need help from the free agent market. I thought at the beginning of this past season the help needed on defense was only at DE and to a lesser extent, DT. But our secondary will also need to improve as well.

My guess is we'll focus exclusively on the interior (guards and center) this offseason. I see 3 players signed/drafted there. Our starting tackles, while not all-wordly, are serviceable. It's sad that we have a completely lost project tackle from a 3rd round pick. If that dude doesn't pan out at least as a reasonable backup, what a terrible draft pick.

3 interior offensive lineman...A DT...and a GOOD DE. That's the bare minimum moves to be made this offseason.

 

[Jiddy]

Chargers' Khalil Mack will enter free agency, play in 2025: Report

After the Chargers' loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round on Jan. 11, the 33-year-old Mack said he would take some time to decide his future. Apparently, he decided he has more football left to play.

sports.yahoo.com

Based on what the article stated, it sounds like Mack would be more than happy to remain with the Chargers - if the price is right. Not sure the man has more than one or two quality seasons tops left in him, so he probably best fits a team who's already playoff material and just needs that extra oomph to get over the top. But if Poles were to somehow snag him, I certainly wouldn't bitch about it.

He's too old is my guess.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

ESPN's prediction aside, I find it very hard to believe KC wouldn't figure out a way to keep Trey Smith. But if for some funky reason they let him walk........

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Two points of interest here in this video:


1. Congrats to Coach Johnson on being named NFL Asst Coach of the Year.
2. Our annual search for a quality center who we'll never sign has us inking the Falcons Drew Dalman per PFF. For some reason, Poles has allergic reactions to signing or drafting high end centers.

 

[Jiddy]

There's some rumblings about Myles Garrett to Bears since his trade demand yesterday. It's probably just noise.

If he was a free agent, I have no doubt the Bears would pursue him, even at 30 years old. (Hell, we signed Peppers at 30) But having to give up significant draft capital on top of him being 30 is probably a no go. Poles has been pretty consistent about going after guys in their mid 20s (Sweat/Claypool/Davis/Moore).

If we're going to make a blockbuster trade like this, a guy like Micah Parsons or the oft-mentioned (at least last offseason) Maxx Crosby is much more likely.

Would be surprised is all I'm saying.

 

[Jiddy]

ESPN's prediction aside, I find it very hard to believe KC wouldn't figure out a way to keep Trey Smith. But if for some funky reason they let him walk........

Just hope he stays available and pay this dude. We need some kind stability in the f*cking interior offensive line. Rookies are going to struggle, even with high grade talent. This should be our "Deandre Swift 37 seconds into Free Agency" move this year.

 

[BearsWillWin]

There's some rumblings about Myles Garrett to Bears since his trade demand yesterday. It's probably just noise.

If he was a free agent, I have no doubt the Bears would pursue him, even at 30 years old. (Hell, we signed Peppers at 30) But having to give up significant draft capital on top of him being 30 is probably a no go. Poles has been pretty consistent about going after guys in their mid 20s (Sweat/Claypool/Davis/Moore).

If we're going to make a blockbuster trade like this, a guy like Micah Parsons or the oft-mentioned (at least last offseason) Maxx Crosby is much more likely.

Would be surprised is all I'm saying.

Man having a player that is capable of what Garrett is capable of would be insane. We just simply can't afford to give up those picks.

 

[averagejoe]

ESPN's prediction aside, I find it very hard to believe KC wouldn't figure out a way to keep Trey Smith. But if for some funky reason they let him walk........

Believe the Chiefs have very little cap space. Only 2 teams have more cap space than the Bears so we're in a good financial spot.

 

[wood20ks]

If Garrett costs more than one years worth of number 1 picks,it would be a no for me......
This years 1st and a 2nd,probably or a 1st and a 3rd is a no brainer....( but those are wishful thinking)

Its probably gonna be more than 1 first.....

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

If Garrett costs more than one years worth of number 1 picks,it would be a no for me......
This years 1st and a 2nd,probably or a 1st and a 3rd is a no brainer....( but those are wishful thinking)

Its probably gonna be more than 1 first.....

My guess is the fans of 31 other NFL teams would love having to surrender just a single 1st round pick. Garrett has two years left on a very manageable contract, which it's obvious why he wants to be "traded". Somehow I get the feeling that his demand would disappear in a nanosecond if the Browns restructured his contract to make him the highest paid Edge in the NFL, or at least in the top 3.

Consequently, due to that favorable contract, I don't see how the Browns couldn't extract at least two 1st rounders and then some if they did decide to part ways.

 

[Jiddy]

My guess is the fans of 31 other NFL teams would love having to surrender just a single 1st round pick. Garrett has two years left on a very manageable contract, which it's obvious why he wants to be "traded". Somehow I get the feeling that his demand would disappear in a nanosecond if the Browns restructured his contract to make him the highest paid Edge in the NFL, or at least in the top 3.

Consequently, due to that favorable contract, I don't see how the Browns couldn't extract at least two 1st rounders and then some if they did decide to part ways.

They might get 2 first rounders if it's a team like the Chiefs who will almost assuredly be drafting in the late 20's/early 30's. A team like us that would probably be offering something like a projected mid-teens pick? No way.