The Chicago Bears are doing some moving and shaking ahead of free agency's official start. In a matter of hours, the news wide receiver DJ Moore has been traded was followed by news linebacker Tremaine Edmunds will be released (after a trade apparently could not be found).
The Bears now have some money to make a notable move or two, and, aside from having to find a replacement for retired center Drew Dalman, the focus should be on the defensive side of the ball. Some notable moves on that front last offseason didn't work out as planned, so it's back to the drawing board this offseason to some extent.
Among available options, and options that may become available, Bears analyst Ben Devine has offered a potential looming free agent target for the Bears.
Have heard the Bears may be looking at DT Jonathan Allen if the price is right in free agency. Only two DTs on the roster currently.
— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) March 6, 2026
On 104.3 The Score's "Mully and Haugh" Friday morning, with the idea the Bears should "stay involved on everything", Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune generally wondered if the Bears might be interested in Allen as they eye adding a defensive tackle.
"I'm curious, and I don't have any intel, is what's their evaluation of Jonathan Allen?", Biggs said. "Does he solve your situation deep into future? No. Is a he a pretty good pro? Yes."
Jonathan Allen should be dismissed as a Bears' FA target as quickly as he surfaced
After spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Washington Redskins/Commanders, Allen was released and signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings last offseason. The Bears got a close look at him twice last season, of course, including one of his best games of the season in Week 1 (six quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus).
Due to their salary cap issues and his performance not justifying an ill-conceived multi-year contract, the Vikings are reportedly set to release Allen. They may be able to work out some kind of trade to get something for him, but any team that may want him won't (and shouldn't) want to take on that contract for a declining player.
Over the final eight games last season, while allowing for the minimized role of defensive tackles as pass rushers in Brian Flores' blitz-heavy scheme, Allen had just one sack and 11 pressures. In the previous season in Washington, he missed nine games with a partially torn pectoral, and the season before that, he had 5.5 sacks while playing all 17 games. His back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in 2021 and 2022 have become a faded memory.
Read more: DJ Moore trade ratchets up pressure on Bears' player who must put it together
The Bears made a big move to sign an aging defensive tackle who was released last offseason, and we saw how that worked out with Grady Jarrett. Allen will definitely come cheaper this offseason, but that doesn't make signing him any better of an idea.