The Chicago Bears are primed for a second consecutive roster makeover with over two dozen players coming out of contract, but this time there are a handful of free agents that the team may consider part of the future. Positional value, league-wide demand, versatility, and leadership, are all some of the things that will be considered. Still, with a massive amount of cap space at their disposal, the Bears will have plenty of options.
Which of the current group of free agents do you think the Bears must bring back?
You can click here for a list of all the Bears’ unrestricted, restricted, and exclusive rights free agents.
A recent Pro Football Focus article from Brad Spielberger listed one free agent that each NFL team can’t afford to lose, and Brad had linebacker Nicholas Morrow as his choice for the Bears. Here’s what he had to say:
The Bears got ahead of a pending free agent situation at off-ball linebacker by trading Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens at the deadline, and they will be doing a whole lot more adding than subtracting this upcoming offseason. Realistically, they can afford to lose anyone because they can also afford to add anyone.
That said, they can’t spend big at every single position, and while off-ball linebacker may resemble the deepest position in all of free agency, Morrow is a solid all-around player who can play at the Will or Mike spots in Matt Eberflus’ defense. Morrow logged a career-high 1,086 snaps and earned his second consecutive coverage grade above 60.0 this past season. He could be a nice depth piece with starting potential on a cheap deal, a familiar face on a roster that is about to have very few in two months’ time.
Morrow plays a position that isn’t usually given big money, he’s coming off a one-year deal worth just $3 million, and as Brad says, Morrow has positional versatility.
The Bears appear content to roll into the 2023 season with Jack Sanborn getting the first crack at the Mike position, and while I feel they need to try and upgrade the Will, Morrow can play the Sam and chip in on special teams too. He’ll turn 28 this summer, so age isn’t a factor, which makes Morrow a no-brainer to bring back as a possible starter and, at the very least, solid depth.
The latest Bears’ 2023 salary cap estimate from Over The Cap comes in lower than previously thought, but it’s still the most in the league by a wide margin. They currently have Chicago at $92,033,199 in cap space, with $82,452,399 in effective cap space, which is about $30 million more than any other team has to spend.
Which pending free agent do you think is a must the Bears bring back?
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