The Chicago Bears are going to have to sign a wide receiver or two this offseason. They are entering the year with D.J. Moore and then Tyler Scott and Velus Jones behind him. They need some help in between. One of the easiest names to link to the Bears in free agency is Marquise Brown.
Will the Chicago Bears sign Marquise Brown in free agency?
Brown is a former first-round pick for the Baltimore Ravens, so he has the pedigree. He came out hot in his rookie year with 710 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 1.83 yards per route run. In his second NFL season, he jumped up to 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 69 receptions, with 1.85 yards per route run.
He hit his peak in 2021 with 91 catches for 1,008 yards, but he did just have six touchdowns, and he also averaged 1.61 yards per route run. After that down year in terms of efficiency, the Ravens decided to trade him to the Arizona Cardinals for a first-round pick. In his first year, his head coach got fired, and his head coach tore his ACL. He put up 709 yards and averaged just 1.44 yards per route run.
In 2022, the injuries started to hit him. That, combined with Kyler Murray missing most of the season and the team having a new offensive coaching staff, led to Brown having the worst year of his career. He put up 574 yards on 51 catches and averaged 1.25 yards per route run.
So, a lot of teams will see a descending player, and it may impact what he makes on the open market. At the right price, the Chicago Bears have to be seriously interested.
Brown would be best as a second wide receiver, and joining an offense with D.J. Moore in place would allow the team to utilize him best. More than that, he has to be interested in the thought of Caleb Williams coming to Chicago.
More than Brown being interested, the Bears need to be interested in getting Williams, an explosive playmaker who can make teams pay for shifting the safety coverage toward Moore. They have enough cap space and should be able to afford the player whose market is trending down, not up.
The fit makes sense for both sides. Will the Chicago Bears sign Marquise Brown in free agency?