The Chicago Bears agreed to terms with a pair of offensive free agents, reportedly adding tight end Robert Tonyan and running back D’Onta Foreman on Thursday.
A source told ESPN that Tonyan, formerly with the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers, and Foreman, who played for the Carolina Panthers last season, will each join the Bears on one-year contracts. Foreman’s deal is for $3 million, per NFL Network and ESPN reports.
The Bears entered the week with the most salary cap space in the league and have been active players in NFL offseason shuffling thus far. Both new offensive acquisitions join Foreman’s teammate in Carolina last season, three-time 1,000-yard receiver DJ Moore, who arrived in the trade package that involved Chicago sending the Panthers the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s draft.
Chicago has also picked up guard Nate Davis (Tennessee Titans), running back Travis Homer (Seattle Seahawks) and backup quarterback PJ Walker (Panthers) on offense in continuing to build around young QB Justin Fields. The Bears defense has also added defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker plus linebackers T.J. Edwards (Philadelphia Eagles) and Tremaine Edmunds (Buffalo Bills).
Many reports pegged Tonyan among potential Packers to jump to the New York Jets amid the ongoing Aaron Rodgers trade negotiations. The former Rodgers favorite, who turns 29 next month, comes off a career-high 53 catches for 470 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games (three starts) in 2022 with Green Bay.
In his five NFL seasons (all with the Packers), Tonyan posted 137 catches for 1,437 yards and 17 scores in 68 games (18 starts). He broke out in 2020 with a career-high 11 touchdown catches, which tied with Kansas City’s Travis Kelce for most among tight ends that season, before playing only eight games in 2021 because of a torn ACL.
Foreman, who will be 27 in April, will play for his fourth team since being picked in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. After two seasons with the Texans as mostly a backup, he sat out the 2019 season following being claimed and cut that summer by the Indianapolis Colts.
He resurfaced as a solid understudy to Titans star Derrick Henry from 2020-21, then had a career year with the Panthers last season — rushing for 914 yards on 203 carries with five rushing scores. Getting a huge uptick in work after Carolina dealt Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, Foreman ran for over 100 yards five times in his final 11 games.
In five seasons, Foreman has produced 1,901 rushing yards on 443 carries for 10 touchdowns and a 4.3 average yards per carry. He has also caught 23 passes for 265 yards and two TD catches in his 43 career games (13 starts).
–Field Level Media