GM Ryan Pace and the Bears have been very busy over the first few days of free agency, using their roughly $50M in cap room to attack positions of need with both starter and depth level players. Here is a brief summary of the Bears free agent moves so far:
- The #1 player on my ILB wish list , former Bronco Danny Trevathan was the Bears first signing of the off-season
- The Bears signed another ILB, former Colt Jerrell Freeman, who was Pro Football Focus #1 rated run stopper last year and 4th best ILB overall
- Offensive tackle Bobbie Massey from the Cardinals who may have been the biggest surprise so far as it moves Kyle Long back to guard
- Cornerback Tracy Porter was re-signed after a healthy and productive first year with the Bears
- Rotational defensive end and part-time fullback Mitch Unrein was brought back on a two-year deal
- Special teams ace Sherrick McManis was re-signed on a two-year deal
- Scrappy WR/RS Marc Mariani turned down offers from Oakland and San Fran to come back to the Bears on a one-year deal
The Bears had arguably the worst starting ILBs in the NFL last season, but now they may have the best after the signing of two players listed among Pro Football Focus top five ILBs. It’s safe to say that the ILB position is no longer a need. Despite the Bears active start to free agency, they still have money left to spend and plenty of positional needs.
Most of the top free agents are already off the board, but there is still plenty of talent available on the market and the second wave of free agency is usually when players began to realize they aren’t going to get as much money as they hoped for, their asking price drops a little, and teams can get potential bargains. The Bears have made plenty of moves so far, but they have resisted any cap crippling contracts and have around $30M left to fill some of the remaining holes on their roster.
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Right now defense line should be the number one Bears positional target. It’s nice having two legit NFL inside linebackers, but they are both under-sized and they won’t be as productive next season unless the Bears sign (or draft) some upgrades on the defensive line to keep blockers off the ILBs and allow them to make plays. I’ll be breaking down the remaining free agents at all of the Bears positions of need, but I’m going to start with the defensive line which I think is still their most glaring need.
If you read my previous wish lists, than some of this will be redundant to you, but I have added a few players that I didn’t expect to be still available after the first wave of free agency and some replacements for guys I wanted who are no longer available. Check out the list below and let me know what you think in the comments on and Twitter (@MikeFlannery_)
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