What will the Chicago Bears roster look like next season?
Possible free agents the Bears could bring in next year…
The Chicago Bears have a full house of young talent that could help the team next season. Guys like Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, David Montgomery, and Jaylon Johnson have talent that could play a huge role next year.
Cole Kmet is showing every week now his versatility at the tight end position, as well as Darnell Mooney proving to be a reliable number two or three receivers. We all know how good David Montgomery can be behind a better offensive line, and Jaylon Johnson has future shut-down corner written all over him.
Still, the Bears have holes on their team, especially on the offensive line. Cutting Massie is a no brainer, so that means the Bears will need a right tackle, and possibly a left tackle if they choose to cut Leno as well. This free-agent class does not present the most affordable guys for the Bears to bring in, so I do not see them bringing in a big name on the line. There are a lot of great prospects in this draft on the o-line, so it would be smarter to go that route.
The Bears’ biggest free agent is Allen Robinson. The main question is if the Bears want to pay him and if Robinson even wants to be here anymore. Robinson deserves top tier money after having two back to back 1,000+ yard seasons.
The most likely route is a franchise tag, then deciding to trade or extend him. How the Bears finish this season will most likely answer that question. If the Chicago Bears believe they can still be competitive, then they should definitely pay Robinson to keep him in Chicago.
Also, the Bears have plenty of guys they need to resign who will be cheap. Names like Brent Urban, Mario Edwards Jr, Cordarrelle Patterson, Josh Woods, and Barkevious Mingo. These are all players who provide great depth and have also had good years this season.
The Bears would have about $19 million left after some roster cuts and re-signings, adding an Allen Robinson extension as well. This also has Kyle Fuller being traded so his contract is not on the books for the Bears.
They will need to sign someone to replace him, and that could be anyone of the likes of William Jackson, Brian Poole, Mike Hilton, or Gareon Conley. These players would all be suitable corners across Jaylon Johnson, who would be asked to be the number one corner on this team.
The Chicago Bears could add a receiver in free agency, especially if Robinson is not brought back or if Anthony Miller is let go, but they would most likely target one in the draft to save money. The main needs in free agency would be cornerback if Fuller is gone, defensive line if Hicks is gone, as well as a quarterback, but the Bears will not have money to sign a good quarterback unless they traded Khalil Mack, which is a whole separate discussion.
Do not expect the Bears to be super involved in free agency, but they might look to replace some positions that were weakened due to cuts or trades. Since the Bears have their first-round pick in the next draft, that is where they will have to really improve the team.