General manager Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears have already done a ton of work ahead of NFL free agency. That included signing Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson to a massive contract extension.
Chicago still has $57 million to spend under the 2024 NFL salary cap. The expectation is that Poles and Co. are going to be super aggressive.
Sure, a lot of the focus in the Windy City is on the quarterback position. Justin Fields is headed out of town via a trade. Former USC star Caleb Williams is extremely likely heading to Chicago with the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
But there is a lot of work to do in free agency to make this organization relevant again on the broader NFL stage.
Related: Top NFL free agents of 2024
Chicago Bears go with combination of youth and big names in NFL free agency
Calvin Ridley, wide receiver
D.J. Moore had himself a brilliant first season with Chicago after being acquired from Carolina. He tallied 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. Not bad given the Bears’ QB situation. Chicago could also look to trade up for Marvin Harrison Jr. or Malik Nabers in the 2024 NFL Draft.
All of that is fine and dandy. But getting another proven receiver who is now just hitting his prime to team up with Moore could very well be in the cards. Imagine those two catching passes from Williams in 2024. Ridley, 29, caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards with eight touchdowns for the Jacksonville Jaguars a season ago.
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Danielle Hunter, EDGE
Montez Sweat was an absolute beast after he came over from the Washington Commanders ahead of the in-season NFL trade deadline. In fact, he led the Bears with six sacks despite playing in just nine games. No other member of the Bears’ defense recorded more than 4.5 sacks. This is a major need area.
Why not go after this stud EDGE rusher from the division-rival Minnesota Vikings? Adding Hunter to the mix to go with Sweat would create one of the best tandems in the league. After all, we’re talking about a player who led the NFL with 23 tackles for loss while recording 16.5 sacks a season ago. Even if it is north of $20 million annually, this is a move the Bears should seriously consider.
Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback
Assuming (and it’s a good assumption) that Caleb Williams is the pick at No. 1, the Bears will have to find a veteran to play behind. With all due respect to Tyson Bagent, the preference would have to be a former starter with a wealth of experience.
No one is going to mistake Garoppolo for a star. His only season with the Las Vegas Raiders was a disasterclass. But he is an Arlington Heights native. He’s also 43-20 in his career as a starter and has “led” a team to the Super Bowl. That experience would be valuable for Williams.
Related: NFL insiders say Chicago Bears’ Jaylon Johnson extension is ‘alarming’
Saquon Barkley, running back
We have read reports linking the Bears to Barkley. It makes perfect sense. If you’re going to exhaust the No. 1 pick on a potential generational quarterback prospect, you must give him elite-level skill-position talent. Chicago failed to do this when it traded up for Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Barkley would bring that dual-threat ability into the backfield. He’s about as dynamic as they come when healthy and actually on the field (averaging 1,219 total yards, 8 TD per season). At issue here are injuries. He’s missed 22 games over the past four seasons. The idea would be for the Bears to frontload this contract to take away risk down the road.
Xavier McKinney, safety
The Chicago Bears use some of their financial capital to team McKinney up with fellow safety Jaquan Brisker, forming one of the best duos in the game. Given the “depressed” free agent market at safety, this is deal that would likely come much below what we’ve seen for top-end safeties in previous years.
This past season saw McKinney record 11 passes defended and three interceptions while yielding a mere 69.8 QB rating when targeted. A starting secondary of Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Brisker and McKinney could be absolutely dominant.