The Chicago Bears continue to lose key free agents on the roster, as this time, the special teams take another hit with the loss of running back Travis Homer.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers are signing Homer with no contract details revealed at the time. Homer played his first four NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before playing the last three with the Bears.
Last year in Chicago, Homer had just one carry on offense for -2 yards but saw a lot of work on special teams, taking 62% of the snaps in that unit. He had 10 tackles in 10 games played.
Travis Homer heads north to Pittsburgh Steelers
Homer becomes the second player this offseason from the Bears to sign with the Steelers. Pittsburgh also added safety Jaquan Brisker to its defense for the 2026 season.
Despite the Bears adding former Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond for his return skills, the special teams unit is starting to get thin with their top guys. Homer and Jonathan Owens were big losses as they were the top guys from that side of the ball.
This will leave the Bears having to lean on some of their young depth players to step up and help out on kickoff and punt coverages. The good news is that they still have one of the best special teams players in the NFL, Josh Blackwell, still on the roster, and he will be able to help carry some of that load that was lost.
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Most of the moves the Bears will need to make to their special teams won't happen until the 2026 NFL Draft, when they add more young talent to the roster.