The Chicago Bears do not have enough draft picks to fill the holes on their roster without the help of free agency. More than that, the team has some of the most salary cap space in the NFL. It is fair to think that the team will be active, and this upcoming offseason will look much more like the previous one than the first offseason under Ryan Poles.
The Bears have direct needs at center, edge rusher, free safety, and tight end. Which free agents are the best fits when you factor in the scheme, salary, culture fit, and team connection?
10. The Chicago Bears should be interested in signing Curtis Samuel in free agency
If the Chicago Bears are going to spend on a mid-tier free-agent wide receiver this offseason, their best bet would be Curtis Samuel. PFF has him projected to sign a two-year, $17M deal in free agency this offseason, and if that is the price, it is easily something that the team can, and should manage to make happen.
First, he fits what the team needs. In losing Darnell Mooney they are losing speed and a slot performer; Samuel does both. The difference is that Samuel has an average depth of rtarget around six in the past two years, while Mooney is over ten throughout his career. Samuel does a lot more of his work after the catch, and he also helps in the screen game, along with drag routes and quick hitters. This could be smart for a rookie quarterback to adjust to.
Samuel used to play with D.J. Moore when they were drafted together in Carolina. The two had a strong relationship, so if the scheme fit and money did not do the trick, perhaps playing with Moore again would make this signing too easy.
If the Bears drafted a receiver in the top ten, had D.J. Moore, and then added Curtis Samuel as the third receiver as a speedy gadget player from the slot, there would not be a better place for him to land in free agency.
Will the Chicago Bears go after Curtis Samuel in free agency?
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9. The Chicago Bears have to look into Aaron Brewer in free agency
The Chicago Bears signed Ryan Bates and there are some reports that he is going to get a chance to play center. That may be true right now, with no one else on the roster, and he may compete for the job in training camp, but the addition of Bates cannot mean that the team is done at center. First, they would have almost no depth.
Second, relying on someone who played just 35 snaps last year to start 17 games is more foolish than signing Lucas Patrick. So, the team will be active. One name to keep an eye on is Aaron Brewer.
Brewer played both guard and center throughout his career but won the starting job late into 2022, and entered 2023 as the unquestioned starter. Brewer played well, despite the line having trouble around him.
With Mike Vrabel fired and a new coaching staff coming in, Brewer could be on his way out. The Chicago Bears hired the Titans' offensive line coach, Jason Houghtaling, to be their assistant offensive line coach. He does not have a major say, but he does know Brewer well.
Houghtaling was prompted from assistant OL Coach to the offensive line coach in 2023, the same time Brewer got his first chance as the full-season starter. Brewer had his best year with Houghtaling. He cannot follow Mike Vrabel anywhere, so the most familiar name for him may be Chicago. We also know the scheme fits considering Chicago went out of their way to sign his coach.
PFF has Brewer projected to sign a three-year, $20M deal this offseason. With that contract, plus the Ryan Bates the team would not be paying anything close to what they paid Lucas Patrick and Cody Whitheair combined and they will upgrade over both.
8. Would the Chicago Bears pay up for Bryce Huff this offseason?
The Chicago Bears should add edge rusher help, and if they do, Bryce Huff should be the name they add. Huff broke out this past year with 10.5 sacks, but if you have been following the New York Jets, you know that he has been playing well for a couple of seasons now; he just has not had the chance to break out with the team. When his playing time goes up, his pressures and sacks go up.
Huff is not the best-run defender and sways toward pass rush only. Still, we saw with Yannick Ngaoue that the Bears will sign that type of player. Huff was much better than Ngakoue last year, and he will only be 26 years old next season.
The Chicago Bears have DeMarcus Walker, who is a solid edge-setter against the run, but he does not get enough pass-rush juice. The team can rotate Huff and Walker on the edge across from Montez Sweat and even have Walker slide inside to create speed-rush looks with Gervon Dexter, Sweat, and Huff as the foursome.
Huff is the type of player you want to sign in free agency. His limited sample is good, but he needs more time; he is young and coming off of his rookie deal, meaning his best is ahead of him, and while he had a good year, his salary will not be outrageous.
PFF has him signing a three-year, $50M deal, which is not awful, but it is also not breaking the bank like a Brian Burns trade or Danielle Hunter signing would. This is the best fit for Chicago.
7. The Chicago Bears have a connection to Quandre Diggs
The Chicago Bears are going to need to sign a free safety this offseason. One name who could be the perfect fit is Quandre Diggs. Diggs was drafted by the Lions in 2025 but was traded to the Seattle Seahawks, where his career blossomed.
He made three Pro Bowls from 2020 through 2022 before getting released after the 2023 season. He is the same age as Eddie Jackson, but he has not missed a game in the past four seasons, so health is not a question. Even better, he is going to make significantly less than what Jackson was scheduled to be on the books for.
He is a free safety, which helps him fit next to Jaquan Brisker, but he also can slide into the box and tackle better than Jackson, which is what Matt Eberflus needs. More than that, he has a relationship with Bears safeties coach Andre Curtis.
Curtis was with Seattle until 2021 when he moved to Chicago. So, he was the passing game coordinator when the Seahawks traded for Diggs and when he made his first two Pro Bowls. Needless to say, Curtis may have positive things to say. Does he help bring in Diggs and get the Chicago Bears their starting free safety?
6. Would Colby Parkinson follow his OC to the Chicago Bears?
We go back to Seattle for this one. The Chicago Bears hired their old passing game coordinator to be their safeties coach, they also hired their old offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron to do the same duties.
We saw Luke Getsy bring in Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan, two Green Bay Packers who followed him to his new team. It may happen again when you consider Tonyan and Lewis will be gone this offseason, and the team has two holes at tight end.
One of the holes will need to be filled by a blocking type of tight end to replace Lewis. Shane Waldron knows as well as anybody that Colby Parkinson can do this.
Parkinson is going to sign on a rather cheap deal. This is a player woth just over 600 yards in four NFL seasons. He was a secondary tight end to Noah Fant with Waldron, but he also developed into a reliable blocker and trusted number two with Waldron. The familiarity could bring a signing.
5. Mike Danna could reunite with Ryan Poles on the Chicago Bears
We saw Ryan Poles sign Byron Pringle in his first off-season. Pringle did not hit, but he was a UDFA that Poles helped sign and watched grow into an NFL player. That tugged at his emotional strings and made him give Pringle a chance. The same could happen with Mike Danna, but it could pay off more.
Danna was a fifth-round pick in 2020, back when Ryan Poles was the director of player personnel. So, this is another later-round pick who Poles saw go from a low-end chance of making it to being a free agent who is projected to sign for three years and $25M per PFF. Danna earned that deal. He went from 5.5 sacks in the first two years with the team to 11.5 sacks in the past two. Danna also stepped up in the playoffs for the Super Bowl champions last season.
About $8M for a rotational rusher is not awful, and the Bears need bodies to rush the passer. Danna also is a great scheme fit because he defends the run first. Danna could also slide inside on passing downs and has done that with the Chiefs.
The fit is too perfect, and he is the type of player we know Ryan Poles likes. The money is not crazy, so why wouldn’t the Chicago Bears offer Danna a fair market deal?
4. Do the Chicago Bears need to sign DaQuan Jones?
The Chicago Bears may be looking for defensive tackle help to replace Justin Jones. While a lot of the talk will be around Chris Jones and Christian Wilkins, both of them will come at a heavy price, the team will have to outbid others, and it blocks the development of second-round pick Gervon Dexter. DaQuan Jones is the best of all worlds.
Jones will be 33 this year, so he is not a long-term option. He is coming off of a season where he only played seven games due to injury too, so the price tag will be low. However, his past two years with the Buffalo Bills were excellent, both as a run defender and pass rusher, and he finished the season healthy, and helped give the defense a boost for their playoff run.
You could noticeably see the Bills’ rush get worse without Jones during the 2023 season. It is interesting to note that Jones has been playing his best football at age 31 and 32, but that could have something to do with his fit. He was with the Bills for the past two years, and that means he was working under the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington.
The team could sign Jones to a one-year deal, and he would be an upgrade over Justin Jones. He also would not block the development of Gervon Dexter, who has some serious juice. This is the direction the Chicago Bears should go on the defensive line.
3. Noah Brown would be a great fit for the Chicago Bears in free agency
The Chicago Bears are going to lose Equanimeous St. Brown, but he was a valued piece of the offense. He did not overly produce, but he was a blocker, both in the run game and on screens. He also would run the routes that open space for other receivers, and he would avoid pass interference calls.
The team needs to replace that gritty wide receiver who will do the dirty work. The best option would be Noah Brown. Brown has been in the NFL for six years, mainly for all of the reasons we described with St. Brown. However, after his first four years, he had limited production. Brown had 1,112 yards over the past two seasons. For comparison, St. Brown was at 385 yards the past two years.
Imagine having someone like St. Brown doing the things that brought him to Chicago, but also knowing that he could make a play or two in the passing game. The Chicago Bears should be interested in signing Noah Brown in free agency.
2. Would the Chicago Bears sign Coleman Shelton?
Coleman Shelton could be a good fit with the Chicago Bears at center. Shelton was a UDFA in 2018 and joined the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. That means that Shane Waldron was the Rams passing game coordinator. In the following season. Thomas Brown was hired to be the Rams run game coordinator.
That is the Bears’ current offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator coaching Shelton for the early portions of his career.
Shelton was a backup for most of their time but has become a trusted starter in the past two years. He got a chance when Brian Allen went down due to injury and did not give the job back. The Rams are letting him test the market, and if any team has a shot to make them regret that, it is Chicago.
1. Denico Autry fits the Chicago Bears
If the Chicago Bears want a solid addition to their defensive line and another player who is a major dot-connecting fit, they have to look at Denico Autry. Autry is 33 years old, so he will not be a high-priced free agent. At the same time, he is averaging 9.5 sacks per year over the past three seasons, and Chicago would love to have that.
Autry has a few key connections to the team. First, he was drafted by the Raiders when Travis Smith was an assistant on the staff. Smith is now the Bears defensive line coach. Autry signed with the Indianapolis Colts from there, meaning he joined Matt Eberflus. Autry went from a depth piece in Oakland to a legitimate starter under Eberflus.
In 2022, Autry played with DeMarcus Walker on the Titans' defensive front. So, we know that Chicago watched him closely as they were scouting Walker. We also know that both Autry and Walker can slide inside and out, and they fit well together. Autry is also familiar with all of these names, which could entice him to sign.
He fills a need, the stats are legitimate, and the money is right. When you add in the connections, the team should be eyeing Autry in free agency.