The Chicago Bears are going to need to sign two tight ends to replace both Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis this offseason. These two players followed offensive coordinator Luke Getsy from the Green Bay Packers to Chicago. The team could end up doing something very similar with Seattle Seahawks free agent tight ends Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson.
Both Fant and Parkinson are set to be free agents after spending the last couple of years in a Shane Waldron offense. Waldron may be interested because they can bring offensive language into the room and help Cole Kmet adjust. These two may want to stay in an offense that they know.
When they lost Tonyan, they lost a passing game threat who struggles to block, and with Lewis, they lost a dominant run blocker with little pass-catching ability. Fant is more of the pass catcher of the two but brings more to the blocking game than Tonyan. Still, his salary will be more than Tonyan and Lewis combined next year.
Parkinson's is more palatable to accept. He is the much more notable blocker of the two, but he can bring more to the passing game than Marcedes Lewis. Even better than that is knowing that Parkinson did not do much before Waldron, but his last two years were easily his best as he started to become a piece of that offense.
The Chicago Bears should sign Colby Parkinson or Noah Fant in free agency.
He is a blocking tight end, so the salary will not be outrageous. The Bears could even slightly overspend, and nobody would notice. He fits as an upgrade over Lewis and potentially would help ease the need for whoever the third end will be.
Free agents follow coaches to new teams all the time. Do not be surprised when Colby Parkinson signs with the Chicago Bears in free agency.