The 2024 offseason will be one of the biggest in Chicago Bears history, with general manager Ryan Poles facing yet another decision with the number one overall pick.
Will the Bears trade the pick for a second-straight year, or opt to trade Justin Fields instead, thus proceeding to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams first overall?
Whichever route they go, Poles and the Bears will be far from done with decisions in the coming weeks and months. Chicago will have a good amount of their own free agents and potential cap casualties to work through while continuing to build this roster into a contender.
As for their own free agents, you can check the full list out below.
The Chicago Bears have 16 total outgoing free agents
Full list of Bears unrestricted free agents:
- Yannick Ngakoue, DE
- Justin Jones, DT
- Lucas Patrick, G
- Dan Feeney, G
- Robert Tonyan, TE
- Rasheem Green, DE
- Marcedes Lewis, TE
- D'Onta Foreman, RB
- Jaylon Johnson, CB
- Patrick Scales, LS
- Equanimeous St. Brown, WR
- Trent Taylor, WR
- Dylan Cole, LB
- Darnell Mooney, WR
Exclusive rights free agents:
- Josh Blackwell, CB
- Joe Reed, WR
Out of all the above players, the one that stands out the most has to be Jaylon Johnson. If we're calling any of the Bears' free agents a "must-sign," he's the one. He cannot be allowed to walk this offseason. Johnson has proven himself as a top corner in this league and deserves to be paid as such. Poles will likely get that deal done.
The biggest question marks, to me, are Darnell Mooney, Yannick Ngakoue and Justin Jones. All three were starters last season, but the Bears could improve by moving on from Jones, no doubt. They could also opt to go wide receiver in the first round, greatly improving depth over Mooney, unless he comes back as a no. 3 wideout.
Then, there's Ngakoue, who fills a huge position of need, but only tallied 4.0 sacks last year with the Bears.
Potential cut candidates and cap savings if cut before June 1:
- Eddie Jackson, S ($12.5 million)
- Cody Whitehair, G/C ($9.1 million)
- DeMarcus Walker, DE ($4.5 million)
- Travis Homer, RB ($1.8 million)
- Velus Jones Jr., WR (Roughly $1 million)
Out of all their cut candidates, I think Jackson and Whitehair are foregone conclusions. We will have to see what the Bears do at edge rusher and guys like Walker, along with Ngakoue in free agency.
Homer will probably be cut. He didn't offer a whole lot of value even on special teams last year. Speaking of special teams, unless Velus Jones learns how to return punts, the Bears should gladly wave goodbye.