Colt’s used transition tag on Jones
I’m aware. But that only means a one-year salary, and the right of first refusal if he wants to go to another team. But there’s no guarantee that they resign him to another deal.
That was really well done.
The Packers, anticipating losing LB Quay Walker in free agency, have traded for the Colts’ LB Zaire Franklin, sending DT Colby Wooden to Indianapolis (look @Omniscient , another player-for-player trade!)
Franklin was second-team All Pro in 2024, but a change in defensive scheme may have factored into a less-impressive 2025; he also will turn 30 before this season starts. Wooden became a starter for Green Bay last year, and is primarily a run-stopper.
The Packers had high hopes for Walker, who had been their first-round pick in 2022. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, but has also been inconsistent, and the team had declined to pick up his fifth-year option on his rookie contract. (Also, speaking as a Packer fan, Walker has struck me as being a bit of a knucklehead.)
I knew this context, but a question remains. I understand New England’s motivation to move on from him at Center, but that doesn’t fully explain the low cost of acquiring him. If he’s a good player, he should command some solid compensation even if he’s expendable. The market is the market. And the Center market in the NFL this offseason is downright crazy, so you’d have to guess they would have had multiple suitors. Does that mean the Bears took advantage of a blind spot in the Patriots’ front office, or does a league with a dozen vacancies at Center view him as non-viable? Maybe the Bears just moved fast enough.
It will be interesting to see what the Bears do from here. Bradbury may be slotted in as the starter, but I’d be surprised if they don’t make him compete. Last year’s 6th round draft pick Luke Newman has been working on converting from OG to C this past season behind Dalman. If they successfully develop him into a starter that would be a windfall. Do they look to draft another player or bring in another veteran? Safe to assume that quality Centers aren’t going to be easy or cheap this cycle.
Bears fans have been ahead of the curve on this one.
He’s basically in the exact same position as Russell Wilson was 3 years ago. He can sign for the league minimum at his next team because the offset language in his Cardinals contract ensures that they pick up the difference. Kyler is earning $36.8 Million this year no matter what, and any money his new team pays him just reduces the amount Arizona has to kick in. If the Steelers sign Kyler it will be the funniest piece of deju vu.
With the league year getting underway this week and the legal tampering window opening up in the morning, I figured it was time to talk through the Bears roster situation.
We have approximately $33 million in cap space following the trade of DJ Moore, the release of Tremaine Edmunds, and the retirement of Drew Dalman.
Here is the positional breakdown of players currently under contract and those who have entered free agency:
Quarterbacks
- Under Contract: Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent.
- Free Agents: Case Keenum (UFA).
Not a lot of change expected here. Caleb is the man. Some rumblings about Bagent being a trade chip, but the staff supposedly loves him, they wouldn’t trade him for cheap. This is an ugly QB class though so anything possible there. Will be interesting to see if they upgrade Keenum one way or another.
Running Backs
- Under Contract: D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, Deion Hankins, Brittain Brown.
- Free Agents: Travis Homer (UFA), Trestan Ebner (UFA).
Some rumors that Swift could be a cap casualty in the wake of Monangai’s success, but I think BJ wants a 2-headed monster here. If Swift goes, it will be because they brought someone they like better in, not to save money. Roschon Johnson will be cut. Travis Homer and Trestan Ebner have hit the open market as free agents, god willing this is the last we’ll hear of Homer. We likely need to add some depth here; I don’t know that either Hankins or Brown are viewed as more than practice squad guys and special teamers.
Wide Receivers
- Under Contract: Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Jahdae Walker, Maurice Alexander, JP Richardson.
- Free Agents: Devin Duvernay (UFA), Olamide Zaccheaus (UFA), Miles Boykin (UFA).
Following the blockbuster trade of DJ Moore to Buffalo, this room is extremely young. While Odunze and the rookie Burden III have star potential, the vacancy of all three primary veteran backups (Duvernay, Zaccheaus, and Boykin) leaves a massive experience gap. I think Jahdae could really break out this year, but they definitely need to add some veteran depth.
Tight Ends
- Under Contract: Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland, Stephen Carlson, Nikola Kalinic, Qadir Ismail.
- Free Agents: Durham Smythe (UFA)
This is one of the strongest units on the team. With Kmet and the rising star Colston Loveland. I don’t expect anything from those developmental guys, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see us add another inline guy here at some point, though BJ has made a habit of using OLs for that role.
Offensive Line
- Under Contract: Darnell Wright (RT), Joe Thuney (LG), Jonah Jackson (RG), Garrett Bradbury (C), Kiran Amegadjie, Luke Newman, Ozzy Trapilo.
- Free Agents: Braxton Jones (UFA), Ryan Bates (UFA), Jordan McFadden (UFA), Theo Benedet (ERFA—Tendered).
The interior was elite prior to Drew Dalman’s retirement. I already talked a bit about the plans here with Bradbury and Newman. The left tackle position is a major concern with Trapilo expected to miss most of the year with a career threatening injury. Amegadjie isn’t the answer, and they are almost certain to let Jones walk. If they make a splash signing this week, it will probably be here. We may bring McFadden back as the swing tackle. Drafting either a Center and/or a Tackle is also likely.
Defensive Line
- Under Contract: Montez Sweat (EDGE), Dayo Odeyingbo (EDGE), Gervon Dexter Sr. (DT), Grady Jarrett (DT), Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, Shemar Turner, Jonathan Garvin, Jeremiah Martin.
- Free Agents: Andrew Billings (UFA), Chris Williams (UFA), Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (UFA), Dominique Robinson (UFA).
Things are rough here. We were bad up-front last year, and it was really expensive too. Awesome combo. In the middle Dexter, Jarrett, Billings and are not getting it done. Billings was good before he got hurt in 2024 but last year he was awful, and horribly out of shape, he’s gone. On the edge Sweat and Dayo are basically non-factors. Booker shows flashes and with another offseason under his belt might become a centerpiece. Turner was a zero as a rookie and it’s unclear what position he plays, he’ll need to really turn it around to avoid being a total bust.
Fortunately, the Bears tapped out on the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes, and I really don’t want us breaking the bank for an Edge in free agency. We’re way over invested here; it’s time to build a pass rush through the draft. Most mock drafts have us going with DT in the first round, and I wholeheartedly agree. Can’t rule out a run at Hendrickson here on Wednesday, but that would mean that Booker and Dayo are coming off the bench. That could stunt Booker’s development and Dayo would be an awfully expensive backup.
Linebackers
- Under Contract: T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell, Ruben Hyppolite II, Nephi Sewell, Dominique Hampton.
- Free Agents: D’Marco Jackson (UFA), Amen Ogbongbemiga (UFA), Jalen Reeves-Maybin (UFA).
The release of Tremaine Edmunds was an obvious cap move, leaving T.J. Edwards as the lone veteran starter (and he struggled coming off an injury). Both Sewell and Hyppolite have been exposed when they’ve been on the field, neither should be considered a starting option. D’Marco Jackson was a nice midseason addition and I’m hoping he sticks around. The situation here is pretty dire and we’re probably going to need to attack it from both angles this offseason.
Defensive Backs
- Under Contract: Jaylon Johnson (CB), Tyrique Stevenson (CB), Kyler Gordon (CB), Terell Smith (CB), Josh Blackwell, Zah Frazier, Dallis Flowers, Gervarrius Owens.
- Free Agents: Kevin Byard (UFA), Jaquan Brisker (UFA), Jonathan Owens (UFA), Elijah Hicks (UFA), CJ Gardner-Johnson (UFA), Nahshon Wright (UFA), Nick McCloud (UFA), Jaylon Jones (UFA).
There is a massive divide here: the Cornerback room is set and solid, but the Safety room is currently empty. Every significant safety from last year’s roster is a free agent. Re-signing one of Byard or Brisker is likely a top priority before the legal tampering period ends. I wouldn’t expect either CJGJ or Nahshon to be back. Terrell Smith looked like he was growing into a stud when he went down in the preseason, so we’ll have to hope he bounces back. Zah Frasier was out for personal reasons his rookie year and I would be shocked if he ever plays a down for us. Needless to say, we’ve got some work to do here, but I have a feeling this will be our 4th priority after LT, DT and LB. We may wait until the second wave of FAs to address our depth here.
Special Teams
- Under Contract: Cairo Santos (K), Tory Taylor (P), Luke Elkin (LS).
- Free Agents: Scott Daly (UFA).
Special teams, not much to talk about here. But there will certainly be grumblings about Santos’ weak leg and Taylor’s status as an underperforming 4th round pick. I suspect that we run it back as-is, but it would be malpractice to not have an open competition in camp with some UDFAs.
Tua is out at Miami, and the Dolphins take a record salary cap hit with $67.4M this year and $31.8M next.
The Steelers have so many choices now!
Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is headed to the Chiefs.
It sucks to lose him, but Zach Charbonnet has been a more productive RB overall (until he got hurt in the playoffs of course). It was nice having that one-two punch in the run game, but Seattle wasn’t going to empty their coffers for him. Good for K9, really, he earned a paycheck.
I find I’m of mixed feelings on this.
I’m a big Hawks fan and will completely miss his skill and productivity, but I live in a mixed marriage (wife is a bleeds-red-and-gold Chiefs fan) so I’m happy for her team. They’ve needed a marquee running back for a while.
The Colts resigned Alec Pierce (4 years, $116 million) and traded Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh. I’m unable to currently find the exact terms of the Pittman trade.
In related news.
No official contract news yet, but seems likely he’s back in KC.
On the KW3 news, I think that’s a bad deal for the Chiefs. Obviously they had a huge need at RB, but I’m not convinced Walker is worth $14M+ a year. There’s a reason he’s never been a full time player in Seattle and he’s been frustrating for long stretches. Is he ready to be a bellcow? I suppose in Reid’s system that’s less of an issue since he likes to throw to RBs a lot and use committees, but then again, that also calls into question the commitment to him.
Also, I kinda was hoping Travis Ettiene would be the move for the Chiefs. I think he’s a more complete player and selfishly he’s on my Dynasty team and I have been excited to see him unlocked by a guy like Reid.
Similarly, the news of Pierce returning to the Colts is kind of troubling. I think most people agreed that he was bound to be overpaid this cycle, but I was hoping he’d go and play in a robust passing offense with a more consistent QB…again, because he’s on my Dynasty team. In Indy he’ll almost certainly remain a boom or bust option even with Pittman departing.
The big OL on the market just got snatched up by the team with the most cap space. Not a shock I guess, and he’ll be a really important piece for the inevitable addition of Fernando Mendoza.
No link yet, but Tyler Algiers is going to the Cardinals. Bijan owners rejoice.
I missed this news earlier.
This is extremely exciting news. I’m not sure if this means that both Byard and Brisker are done in Chicago, but Bryant was exceptional for the Seahawks in the playoffs. As I wrote last night, we have a big hole there and I did not expect us to go big in FA right out the gates. But I love the player we got here. Also hurts the NFC champs which is a bonus.
Many people were projecting a $30M/year value for Willis. He signs for a relatively cheap $22.5M AAV and a shortish 3-year deal. After shipping off Tua they react quickly to get his replacement. As a Bears fan I’m pleased that Willis will no longer be haunting us in Chicago, he was way harder for us to handle than Love so this is a win. I’m not really a believer in this reclamation project outside of the LaFluer system, especially in that mess of a Dolphins organization, but kudos to them for committing to a hard reboot this year.
Bryant has been a solid player since Seattle got him. He’s just overshadowed by other safeties. I don’t know how much Seattle is hurt by this; they’re pretty stacked at the DB. But it’s a good acquisition for the Bears.
People are talking about Tua going to the Falcons as if it’s a foregone conclusion. nothing to report yet, but it’s an interesting landing spot.
It makes a lot of sense for Atlanta. I doubt they think Tua is their QB of the future. They need at least a competent backup for Penix if not more if his injury lingers and just dumped Kirk Cousins. Plus they can pay him league minimum on a one year prove it deal with Miami required to pay the rest of the $50+ million he is owed for 2026.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if Matt Ryan sees some of himself in Tua.
The Bears made a sizable investment at LB as well.
Can’t say I have watched a lot of Bush, but he has 1st round pedigree and seems to be a bit of a late bloomer. I’m not 100% certain he’s an upgrade over Edmunds, but he is cheaper (though surprisingly, not younger). Can he maintain the level of production behind a Bears DL that doesn’t feature Myles Garrett? Nevertheless, they are attacking 2 of the 4 biggest holes we had on the roster on day one which is good. We still have another hole at LB opposite Edwards but that guy will be a part-time player so maybe we give Hyppolite or a rookie a try there.
One of the other big chips has fallen with Mike Evans, coming off injury, moving to San Fransisco to bolster that passing offense. It will be interesting to see how Brock Purdy meshes with Evans. Purdy is a good deep ball thrower and Evans is probably the most traditional pass catcher they’ve had in a while. Not sure how much Evans has in the tank but he should be an upgrade over Aiyuk. This isn’t great for my Ricky Pearsall investment in Dynasty though.
One more random thought on KW3 going to the Chiefs, pretty much every Mock Draft had the Chiefs drafting Jeremaih Love in the 1st. This should change that math completely, so the next round of mock drafts will be entertaining.
The big DT prize is going to join Robert Salah in Nashville. The Titans earlier cleared a spot for him by trading Sweat, so they are looking to generate pressure from the inside with him and Simmons.
The Titans added another piece on the defense as well, lots of spending on that side of the ball in Tennessee.
The other perspective on the Bears LB changes, previously released Tremaine Edmunds is going to New York to play for Harbaugh. He’s getting around $3M more per year than Bush, so those two players will be interesting to compare as 2026 moves on.
I had missed this note earlier.
Jackson, along with CJGJ, was a lifeline for the Bears on defense when practically every off-ball defensive starter hit the IR. Made some huge plays for us down the stretch and the combo of Edwards, Bush and Jackson should solidify what was probably the weakest position group on the roster just 3 hours ago without completely breaking the bank.
It’s beginning to look like the Bears plan to invest all their draft capital in the trenches, which feels like the right move.
Another defensive addition for the Bears. Gallimore is not a guy I know well, but he’s expected to replace the outgoing Andrew Billings. There’s no world where this isn’t a big improvement for us, Billings was a total liability, so if Gallimore is even replacement level this will be a win. Our inside run defense was abysmal so between those LBs and a run-focused DT alongside the pass-focused Dexter feels like a good complement. Gallimore also tends to be available which, you know, helps. Clearly there’s little confidence in Shermar Turner being a serious help.
This still should not preclude the Bears drafting a DT in the first 2 rounds of the draft.
Bears UDFA Robinson gets a new home. Robinson was not a major contributor, but he flashed as a reserve last season. He probably hasn’t lived up to his modest draft hype, but he was always considered a project. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him have a bit of a resurgence in Houston when he rotates with those studs ahead of him on the depth chart. Nice depth piece.
And now, every NFC North team will be rolling out a new Center to start 2026. The Bears are the first to find a replacement, but the Lions, Viking and now Packers all have a hole at the position. Before the draft is here as many as 16 teams might be changing Centers.
To close another Bears question I had:
Case Keenum will be back in the QB room. He’s cheap, but man it’s an uninspiring signing. If you believe so much in Bagent as a backup, I’d much rather take a swing on another deep sleeper here for the 3rd spot. If you need a veteran presence, hire a recently retired guy as an assistant QB coach.
The Commanders just dropped 9 figures on an Edge. This was a highly rumored move the last couple weeks so not a shock to see it become semi-official. I think it’s ever so slightly strange to see Washington go big on defense instead of funneling resources to help Jayden Daniels. They of course can still do more, but $25M a year on a DE is a big chunk of cap space.
Meanwhile, the Patriots - with the 10th most cap space - are busy signing…fullbacks? They re-signed FB Jack Westover and signed FB Reggie Gilliam from the Bills.
Not the big free agent splash one might hope for! 
