The Bears 2025 Free Agency Thread

[BearsWillWin]

Well, its not really theory when you saw the playoff games. There is an answer for most of it. When KC was shown with a guard and center with nobody to block and Mahomes on his back, they change to more of a zone blocking scheme, right? You are responsible for this area, whoever enters it Its still a scheme thing. Lining up the tight end(s) close to the line where its clear a linebacker is covering them, he needs to be aware enough if that guy comes, that is where I am throwing the ball. Otherwise, its the QB or RB with a clear path for a positive gain since nobody was there to block, that meant nobody was there to tackle. Positive plays change play calls on defense. Quick throws frustrate the d line who cannot get home.

The play that mostly comes to mind was late in the season when DJ was shadowing CAlebs roll to the sidelines when there was plenty of time to throw the ball for a 5 yard gain but DJ got slammed for giving up and running out of bounds. Gotta throw that ball where DJ has a chance to make a move upfield for YAK. That is the part that Caleb can fix. Otherwise, its going to be a long season full of sacks because a QB cannot be sacked if he does not have the ball in his hand.

Jiddy's point was that talent is what wins.

Yes you need a good scheme. You need good coaching. You need a plan. You need to be able to execute that plan.

But at the end of the day the teams that win do so because they have talent.

 

[wood20ks]

Trey Smith got franchise tagged.

Rumor is KC will tag Smith.

That puts this story to rest then:

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/chicago-bears/bears-trey-smith-chiefs-nfl-free-agency

By that story KC has only 3 mill under the cap to spend....thats not much.....but these teams seem to be able to cut fat in places and restructure deals to keep someone.

Not sure if its 3 or 5 mill according to NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

But as bad as that oline looked vs Phi,they need to keep him......
But if that means giving up two firsts for him,then no way....

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

That puts this story to rest then:

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/chicago-bears/bears-trey-smith-chiefs-nfl-free-agency

By that story KC has only 3 mill under the cap to spend....thats not much.....but these teams seem to be able to cut fat in places and restructure deals to keep someone.

Not sure if its 3 or 5 mill according to NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

But as bad as that oline looked vs Phi,they need to keep him......
But if that means giving up two firsts for him,then no way....

I really hope and trust that Poles is dead set against trading picks for veteran help. At least not the four picks from our first 3 rounds. Of course trading our back end picks for any vet help won't get us much more than back up help. What I do like is from the last line of the article you linked:

There is plenty of interior talent on the draft board as well as in free agency, but Smith is the league's unquestioned prize this offseason.

No doubt the IOL potential from both free agency and the draft is relatively loaded this year, which matters a lot being the IOL is without question our greatest area of need. And if I'm gonna spin some kind of positive out of losing Smith, it's that Poles can now ink two talented players, hopefully both on the IOL, for the price of what it would have taken to sign Smith. I just said the easy part, the hard part is now taking such actions.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Here's an article from USA Today listing the top 15 free agents who could hit the open market next month:

NFL free agency: Tee Higgins, Sam Darnold lead top free agents on offense

Free agency is nearly here and multiple players could change teams. Here are our top 15 players on offense.

www.usatoday.com

Key players pertaining to the Bears OL needs and per their ranking:

3. Trey Smith - He remains the top OL on the market. Sucked in the playoffs, but a great regular season makes him the most in demand and he'll rake with his next contract.
4. Ronnie Stanley - Feels like he's been in the league for 20 years, yet he'll only be 31 this coming season. He's had injury issues, but last year he was healthy and made the Pro Bowl.
6. Drew Dalman - Top center on the market, assuming he's ok physically, he's my top get. I'm sick of poor center play from our team.
8. Will Fries - Pretty much the same as Dalman, if health is no concern, he could be a fit on the inside.
10. Mekhi Becton - As I've stated in a previous thread, here's your poor man's Trey Smith. If the budget's running a bit tight, he could be had for half the price tag of Smith.
12. Josh Myers - If Dalman doesn't work out for whatever reasons, how about this guy? It would be nice to take one from the Packers.
15. Tevin Jenkins - When healthy, he's a mauler, but that questionable health seems like it will always be an annual issue. It's looking like the Bears are gonna let him walk.

So the only player from this list who's no longer available is Smith. While others still might end up signing with their original teams, it's looking a bit more like these players will still be around when free agency officially commences on March 12th. If we only signed two from this list my choices would be:

Drew Dalman - We need a proven veteran center badly and by all measures Drew's the man. However, Josh Myers would serve as a more than capable substitute if Dalman doesn't come thru.
Mekhi Becton - Here's your half priced Trey Smith, which in turn could afford us to ink a 3rd IOL, and that would be...
...Kevin Zeitler - He's not on the list, but even into his age 35 season, he'd be more than a serviceable stopgap until one of our younger draftees is ready to take over. Had a solid season last year.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Not that the Bears have anyone to be considered for franchise tagging, and it's a fair guess to say anyone we're targeting in free agency won't be tagged either (Trey Smith aside). But I thought it was interesting to see the tag amounts by position.

Quarterback: $40.242 million
Running back: $13.64 million
Wide receiver: $23.959 million
Tight end: $13.826 million
Offensive line: $23.4 million
Defensive end: $22.0625 million
Defensive tackle: $25.12 million
Linebacker: $25.45 million
Cornerback: $20.187 million
Safety: $18.601 million
Punter/kicker: $6.313 million

It's funny, everyone talks about the importance of the sack chasing De/Edge position, yet it's worth less than the DT. And somehow LB commands even more than these other two. I suspect tho what boosts this amount is the highest paid LBs are also defacto Edge players as well. Right now RBs remain the second lowest paid unit, but I have a feeling over the next few years they'll at least slip past the TE group.