Bears Re-Sign CB Callahan, TE Brown, and WR Bellamy

TE Daniel Brown – The Bears need help at the tight end position, but locked down a potential contributor in Daniel Brown.

The Bears brought in tight end talent off the waiver wire through out all of last season, but may have found a keeper in Brown. After spending time on the Ravens practice squad, Brown didn’t play for the Bears until week 12 this year but had 16 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in the final six games.

Brown started three games for the Bears this year and looks like a potential long-term contributor at the tight end position. He struggled at times as a blocker, which isn’t surprising considering Brown was a wide receiver in college at James Madison.

The Bears still have Zach Miller at tight end, but with his injury history they need a reliable backup option and now Brown is locked into the tight end mix in 2017.

WR Joshua Bellamy – Of the three players re-signed, this was the biggest surprise to me. I guess the pending loss of Alshon Jeffery forced the Beats to add some receiving depth, but it’s hard to trust Bellamy to contribute at all at the position after leading the team in drops on just 38 targets.

The Bears have invested two years in developing the former cornerback as a wide receiver and he’s shown the ability to get open against NFL defensive backs. The problem is that he can’t catch the ball consistently with just a 50% catch rate late season.

Bellamy’s amateurish habit of jumping to catch the ball whether he needs to or not will need to change if he’s going to ever become a reliable option. Can he change that habit and improve his hands in one offseason?

Even if he doesn’t improve much as a receiver, Bellamy is one of the Bears best special teams gunners, which may have been enough to keep him on the roster. With just a minimum contract required to retain Bellamy, I’m guessing the Bears brought him back mainly for his special teams contributions. If Bellamy learns how to catch the ball properly, that’s gravy.