2026 Chicago Bears Offseason Thread

[gflore34]

22 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

As expected, Poles says they expect Trapilo out until "deep into next year"

I think it best to assume he's done, spend a day 2 pick on the OL.

[gflore34]

My thought is they'll bring Byard back, letting Brisker and Nashon Wright walk, I'm okay with this, no need to break the bank on Wright.  Let some other team make the mistake of signing him to a bad contract.

[raw]

Contributors who are free agents:
KR Devin Duvernay
WR Olamide Zaccheaus
TE Durham Smythe
OL Braxton Jones
CB Nick McCloud
S Kevin Byard
S Jaquan Brisker
DE Dominique Robinson
DT Andrew Billings
DT Chris Williams
DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
LB D'Marco Jackson
CB Nahshon Wright
CB/S CJ Gardner-Johnson
LS Scott Daly

Non-contributors who are FAs:

QB Case Keenum
RB Travis Homer
LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
CB Jaylon Jones
S Jonathan Owens
S Elijah Hicks

Cut/trade candidates:
WR DJ Moore
DE Dayo Odeyingbo
LB TJ Edwards
LB Tremaine Edmunds
RB D'Andre Swift

RB Roschon Johnson
OL Kiran Amegadjie
LB Amen Ogbongbemiga
LB Noah Sewell

Staying on roster
QB- Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent (trade is possible, I guess)
RB- Kyle Monangai
WR- Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Jahdae Walker
TE- Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet (trade is possible, will not cut)
OT- Darnell Wright, Ozzy Trapilo (injured), Theo Benedet
IOL- Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, Luke Newman, Jordan McFadden (RFA, but imagine will get tendered if thought enough to start him over Newman/Benedet in a playoff game)

DE- Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy (RFA, likely tendered), Shemar Turner (here or DT)
DT- Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter
LB- Ruben Hyppollite
CB- Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Zah Frazier, Terrell Smith, Josh Blackwell
S- None

Needs:
QB3- very low priority (UDFA)
RB- high priority if cut Swift, medium if keep him (Day 2 vs Day 3)
WR- low priority if keep DJ, medium if trade DJ (FA add vs late Day 3)
LT- medium to high priority due to Trapilo injury (Day 2 vs FA swing add)
IOL- low to medium, not really a need, but always add linemen, no backup C (Day 2 or 3)

DE- high to very high priority (FA, trade or early draft pick)
DT- highest priority IMO (FA, trade and/or early draft pick)
LB- anywhere from low to high priority depending on cuts/trades (FA, early draft pick)
CB- medium to high priority, lot of bodies, 4 of 6 missed at least 2/3 of the season (Day 2 or Day 3, cheap FA)
S- medium to high priority, depends on who they bring back and lack of bodies (all)

[bddavidson]

Looking at that list of contributing FA's and really Byard and maybe CJGJ are the ones I'd hate losing.  I think having CJGJ and Kyler Gordon on the field at the same time gives Allen a ton of really fun blitz possibilities.  

I think Case Keenum should be on this roster as long as he wants to cash checks.  He seemed to have a really positive impact on Caleb as a hype man/adult in the QB room they didn't have his rookie year.

Lastly, its almost assuredly a miserable use of resources but I would at least need to find out the cost on both Simmons from TEN and Achane from MIA

[jersey cubs fan]

17 minutes ago, bddavidson said:

Looking at that list of contributing FA's and really Byard and maybe CJGJ are the ones I'd hate losing.  I think having CJGJ and Kyler Gordon on the field at the same time gives Allen a ton of really fun blitz possibilities.  

I think Case Keenum should be on this roster as long as he wants to cash checks.  He seemed to have a really positive impact on Caleb as a hype man/adult in the QB room they didn't have his rookie year.

Lastly, its almost assuredly a miserable use of resources but I would at least need to find out the cost on both Simmons from TEN and Achane from MIA

I have no interest whatsoever in bringing back Keenum unless they are trading Bagent. Caleb’s cap hit goes up next year and you don’t need to be spending millions on multiple backups. It’s a terrible waste of resources 

[raw]

33 minutes ago, bddavidson said:

Looking at that list of contributing FA's and really Byard and maybe CJGJ are the ones I'd hate losing.  I think having CJGJ and Kyler Gordon on the field at the same time gives Allen a ton of really fun blitz possibilities.  

I think Case Keenum should be on this roster as long as he wants to cash checks.  He seemed to have a really positive impact on Caleb as a hype man/adult in the QB room they didn't have his rookie year.

Lastly, its almost assuredly a miserable use of resources but I would at least need to find out the cost on both Simmons from TEN and Achane from MIA

Oh man, I would love Achane. Don't imagine it'd take more than like a 3rd + change with this being the last year on his rookie deal, and he's an amazing fit for Ben Johnson's offense. 

I'm in a weird place with Swift. I love what he did this year, but he is a year removed from being one of the least efficient RBs in the league. And now without Eric Bienemey to scare him into hitting the hole like a man, I'm afraid he'll revert. You'd save 7M from cutting him, but you'd almost certainly have to go RB earlier than you'd like or pay another guy similar money to come in.

Part of me REALLY wants to basically swap him out for a faster, more dynamic game-breaking RB (Kenneth Walker, Travis Etienne, Achane trade is what I'm thinking).

[minnesotacubsfan]

1 hour ago, bddavidson said:

Looking at that list of contributing FA's and really Byard and maybe CJGJ are the ones I'd hate losing.  I think having CJGJ and Kyler Gordon on the field at the same time gives Allen a ton of really fun blitz possibilities.  

I think Case Keenum should be on this roster as long as he wants to cash checks.  He seemed to have a really positive impact on Caleb as a hype man/adult in the QB room they didn't have his rookie year.

Lastly, its almost assuredly a miserable use of resources but I would at least need to find out the cost on both Simmons from TEN and Achane from MIA

Simmons would be an insane get, but probably something like the Parsons trade

 

[WrigleyField 22]

2 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

I have no interest whatsoever in bringing back Keenum unless they are trading Bagent. Caleb’s cap hit goes up next year and you don’t need to be spending millions on multiple backups. It’s a terrible waste of resources 

Keenum was 0.8% of the cap last year. And any serious team should be outspending the cap, so call it like 0.74% of their target cash outlay. 

 

Do you need to bring him back? No. But one of the reasons teams have prioritized these vet QB "player-coaches" is it allows them to get around offseason coaching restrictions. If Ben think that's worth a fraction of a percent of the total player cash outlay I trust it.  Even if you kept him through camp and waste another 900k bonus on him for just offseason. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

9 minutes ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

Keenum was 0.8% of the cap last year. And any serious team should be outspending the cap, so call it like 0.74% of their target cash outlay. 

 

Do you need to bring him back? No. But one of the reasons teams have prioritized these vet QB "player-coaches" is it allows them to get around offseason coaching restrictions. If Ben think that's worth a fraction of a percent of the total player cash outlay I trust it.  Even if you kept him through camp and waste another 900k bonus on him for just offseason. 

how much more qb coaching does Caleb need in the offseason? 

[WrigleyField 22]

21 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

how much more qb coaching does Caleb need in the offseason? 

Probably a bit. 

Again for 0.74-1.2% of cap, I'll trust Ben

[Geographyhater8888]

12 hours ago, raw said:

Oh man, I would love Achane. Don't imagine it'd take more than like a 3rd + change with this being the last year on his rookie deal, and he's an amazing fit for Ben Johnson's offense. 

I'm in a weird place with Swift. I love what he did this year, but he is a year removed from being one of the least efficient RBs in the league. And now without Eric Bienemey to scare him into hitting the hole like a man, I'm afraid he'll revert. You'd save 7M from cutting him, but you'd almost certainly have to go RB earlier than you'd like or pay another guy similar money to come in.

Part of me REALLY wants to basically swap him out for a faster, more dynamic game-breaking RB (Kenneth Walker, Travis Etienne, Achane trade is what I'm thinking).

I’d love an upgrade in the backfield. Monangai and swift will take what’s available to them and not a whole lot more. Breece hall is set to become a free agent I think. I’d like someone efficient on short yardage too.

[Banedon]

Ok but....not the Packers please.

[Banedon]

The Eagles have requested to interview Declan Doyle for their OC job.  

[WrigleyField 22]

32 minutes ago, Banedon said:

The Eagles have requested to interview Declan Doyle for their OC job.  

Interesting. I beleive Sirianni has indicated this will be a coordinator job that has full coordinator responsibilities, but as an O coach himself there's always some question as to if the role is a bona fide coordinator role and thus whether it is blockable or not. 

 

Edit - though Ben has all but said he's welcoming his guys getting interviews so I don't think he'd necessarily block anyways. 

Edited January 22 by WrigleyField 22

[Banedon]

Bienemy officially going back to KC.

[gflore34]

Don't really care about this or that assistant leaving for another position.  Ben and Caleb remain and it's the only thing that matters.

[Banedon]

[gflore34]

Just read an article regarding Bears' receivers and drops.  Didn't realize how much they dropped the ball and how many yards it cost Caleb.  National media likes to harp on Caleb' CP, not taking into account just how much his receivers dropped the ball which was quite a bit.  One way or the other I strongly suspect the drop issue will be remedied next season with the result being Caleb and the Bears offense going nuclear.

[BigSlick]

its completely down the list of priorities but its maddening that Colston Loveland isn't a finalist for OROY. What a crock. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Odunze in particular was very honest about how disappointed he is ik himself for his poor play on contested catches. Im expecting these guys to go so hard over the offseason. The stakes have been raised and they are well aware.

[Soul]

12 hours ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

Edit - though Ben has all but said he's welcoming his guys getting interviews so I don't think he'd necessarily block anyways. 

Ben went all in on that.  He said he hopes his coaches get opportunities elsewhere.

[Wilson A2000]

8 hours ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Odunze in particular was very honest about how disappointed he is ik himself for his poor play on contested catches. Im expecting these guys to go so hard over the offseason. The stakes have been raised and they are well aware.

Please work on catching the easier balls also

[BigSlick]

I know the NFL is the "what have you done for me lately" league, but I feel like a lot of Bears fans have been excessively harsh on Odunze. Yeah, his hands have disappointed me a bit, but he was becoming a very good (and really, the favored) option for Caleb until he broke his foot roughly halfway through the season. From like, week 10 on, he basically wasn't available in a real way. And he did everything he could to be available. That means a lot to me. 

i'm not jumping to any conclusions about him and I'm not declaring him a bust. Let's see what a full season of availability with him and Caleb looks like next year. 

[gflore34]

6 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

I know the NFL is the "what have you done for me lately" league, but I feel like a lot of Bears fans have been excessively harsh on Odunze. Yeah, his hands have disappointed me a bit, but he was becoming a very good (and really, the favored) option for Caleb until he broke his foot roughly halfway through the season. From like, week 10 on, he basically wasn't available in a real way. And he did everything he could to be available. That means a lot to me. 

i'm not jumping to any conclusions about him and I'm not declaring him a bust. Let's see what a full season of availability with him and Caleb looks like next year. 

We've definitely have not seen the best of Rome, as you said, let's give him a full year before writing him off. 

[Banedon]