The Chicago Bears have plenty of free agents to debate re-signing, and we have been walking through the tough decisions between many. While most fans just want to get rid of everybody, some depth pieces can be a part of the rebuild. At the same time, some pieces are better to move on from.
Who are five players the Chicago Bears should move on from?
5. Chicago Bears can wait to re-sign Michael Schofield
We wrote about Riley Reiff and the possibility of his return. Reiff may be more likely than Schofield, but Schofield should be put in the same boat. Both of them signed in July, and at their age and status, both of them could be available still this July.
Schofield had a bit more rust to shake off than Reiff, it appeared. During the preseason it looked like his roster spot would be on the line. Still, due to injuries to Teven Jenkins, Cody Whitehair, and Lucas Patrick, the team relied on Schofield throughout the season at both left and right guard.
The one case to sign him is that he played both sides and he ended up being reliable by the end. Still, he was replacement level at best, and if his best attribute is just filling snaps, the team should be looking younger and cheaper to fill that role.
If the Chicago Bears go into training camp and realize they did not sign enough depth, or they realize a few of the late-round picks or UDFAs are behind schedule, maybe they will call Schofield. Until then, he should be waiting with Reiff.
4. Angelo Blackson will not re-sign in Chicago
One of the more disappointing notes from the entire season is Angelo Blackson. Still, it was obvious from the jump that he was not a fit. He was signed to play odd fronts, and the Chicago Bears changed the scheme. Beyond that, he was signed to back up Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols and now he was starting beside Justin Jones.
They asked too much of him and it worked horribly. Blackson was one of the many poor run defenders on the roster. Still, it was fascinating to see the team actively phase him out of the defense.
He started week one, and by week 14, he was essentially a five-snap-per-game player. The last three weeks saw him inactive, then get asked to play a full game, and then an illness caused him to miss week 18. Angelo Blackson was counting down until he could leave Chicago, and the Bears will not offer him a deal either.
3. Ryan Poles must restrain from re-signing Byron Pringle
The Chicago Bears signing Byron Pringle obviously stemmed from Ryan Poles. He signed Pringle as a UDFA when he was with the Chiefs and was probably excited to give him a free agency deal, the first big deal for Pringle.
Still, the deal was a flop. Pringle got paid more than Dante Pettis and Equanimeous St. Brown and could not even beat them out for playing time. To be fair, an injury derailed the start of his season.
Still, he was back by week 10 and still did nothing for over two months to close out the season. The Chicago Bears already re-signed St. Brown. So, he joins Velus Jones, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool as four wideouts on the team next year.
With only five or six guys they just need one or two more names. They cannot waste one of those spots on someone like Byron Pringle. It is time to move on.
2. Ryan Griffin did not work for Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears signed two tight ends to be their depth behind Cole Kmet. James O’Shaugnessy did not even make the roster after cutdowns, and Ryan Griffin lost his job as the number two tight end to Trevon Wesco by about week three.
That is not great, especially when you add in that Wesco was signed because he was released by the Jets during final cutdowns. Wesco may be the tight end who returns, considering he beat out both O’Shaugnessy and Griffin this season.
So, that should not leave any room for Griffin. He probably still wants to be a tight end two, and could probably find that work and pay somewhere. However, the Bears should either re-sign Wesco or upgrade from that spot. They also should re-think their third tight end after not being happy with their decisions last season.
1. Who already forgot Dane Cruikshank played for the Chicago Bears?
This one is pretty easy, but when Ryan Poles was not paying guys a lot, Dane Cruikshank ended up being one of the names that was higher paid in the whole free agent group. Of course, he wound up contributing little to nothing with a hamstring injury.
Cruikshank wound up active for eight games and mostly was on special teams. He was supposed to be a special teams stud, but it wound up being his injury that opened a special teams spot for Velus Jones to be reactivated.
Beyond that, the Chicago Bears got special team contributions from Elijah Hicks, Sterling Weatherford, and Josh Blackwell, and all of them are young, signed on longer, and now present more upside moving forward. It was a nice shot to try with Cruikshank and we will never know what the team had in store for him but it never happened.