The Pittsburgh Steelers are swapping out one former Chicago Bears starter for another in their latest series of roster moves for the 2023 offseason.

According to the team’s official transaction wire for Wednesday, June 20, the Steelers signed veteran inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and released veteran wide receiver Anthony Miller to free up space for him on their 90-man offseason roster. Both players were Bears draft picks during Ryan Pace’s general manager run from 2015 to 2021.

Miller, a 2018 second-round pick and resounding bust for the Bears, played the first three seasons of his career in Chicago, starting 17 games and catching 134 passes for 1,564 yards and 11 touchdowns. After a season filled with mistakes and disappointment in 2020, however, the Bears opted to trade him and a seventh-round selection to the Houston Texans prior to 2021 in exchange for an additional fifth-rounder — which Pace’s successor, Ryan Poles, flipped during the 2022 draft in order to land both left tackle Braxton Jones (No. 168 overall) and running back Trestan Ebner (No. 203).

Kwiatkoski’s time in Chicago is remembered more favorably. The 2016 fourth-round pick drew the ire of fans throughout some of the rougher moments of his career, but he had a strong 2019 season for the Bears during the final year of his rookie contract, stepping up for the injured Roquan Smith and finishing with career-highs in solo tackles (56), tackles for loss (eight), sacks (three) and pass breakups (four).

Despite reports the Bears were “prioritizing” re-signing him, Kwiatkoski ultimately landed with the Las Vegas Raiders on a three-year, $21 million deal during the 2020 offseason. He had difficulty staying on the field for the Raiders, though, and was cut loose ahead of the final year of his contract after making 12 starts in 20 appearances.

Can Anthony Miller Make Mid-Career Resurgence?

Miller might be the latest former Bear to find himself on the hunt for a new job, but the trajectory of his career could be worth monitoring depending on where he lands next.

Thus far, the 27-year-old wide receiver has been entirely unsuccessful at recapturing the spark he showed during his three seasons in Chicago. In Houston, Miller suffered an injury prior to the start of the 2021 season and appeared in just two of the Texans’ first four games, catching just five of his 11 targets for 23 yards and a touchdown and proving inconsistent. The Texans then unceremoniously dumped him after Week 4.

Fortunately for Miller, he was able to latch on with Pittsburgh’s practice squad shortly after his release from Houston, but it didn’t yield much playing time. He was elevated to the game-day roster once for the Steelers in 2021 and then missed all of 2022 with a season-ending shoulder injury that he sustained during training camp.

While Miller did earn a one-year contract to return to Pittsburgh for the 2023 season, the Steelers’ trade acquisition of Allen Robinson II — another one of his former Bears teammates — in April pushed him further into irrelevancy on their depth chart.

Now, the Bears’ former second-rounder has reached a crossroads. At 27, he could still reasonably play in the NFL for several more seasons if he can prove himself a valued contributor for his next team, but he needs to find the right opportunity. Teams loaded with receiving depth won’t have much to offer him, but perhaps he can have a mid-career resurgence if he can join a roster with a thinner position group, such as the Atlanta Falcons — who employ the man who drafted him — or the Tennessee Titans.

Bears Have Zero Reason to Revisit Anthony Miller

Miller’s experience and previous bursts of competent play should tempt at least a few teams out there looking to fill out their receiving rotation for camp next month, but there is no reason for the Bears to consider a reunion with the former second-rounder.

Right now, the Bears are in a strong place in terms of receiving depth. They are set to have one of their strongest starting trios in recent history with D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool and have done a quality job at installing depth behind them, re-signing both Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis and drafting fourth-rounder Tyler Scott to compete for reps with 2022 third-rounder Velus Jones Jr.

At this point, it is possible one of the four depth pieces doesn’t even make the Bears’ 53-man roster. The two draft picks are likely safe; although, it is possible a poor showing from Jones in camp could convince the Bears that they made a mistake with him. If Jones can show moderate improvement after an inconsistent rookie year, though, it is more likely that either St. Brown or Pettis winds up on the chopping block.

Whichever way the Bears go, there simply isn’t room for someone like Miller unless an injury or two alters the composition of the group as it stands right now.

The Chicago Bears have been wheeling and dealing all offseason long, but as training camp approaches the franchise remains absent a bonafide pass-rushing threat.

Field Yates of ESPN predicted on Wednesday, June 21, that Chicago’s final major roster move ahead of the season will be to add an edge rusher to the defense. However, considering the Bears’ reticence to sign one of the several qualified candidates available via free agency despite several months worth of opportunity to do so, Yates projected that a trade is the more likely path to Chicago’s preferred acquisition.

“The Bears have not shied from stating the desire to beef up their edge room — they are light on established pass rushers,” Yates wrote. “The free agent market features more players who would be designated pass rushers in the Bears’ scheme (think Yannick Ngakoue) than every-down candidates, which leads me to wonder whether the Bears would be better served to find a trade for an edge player. Pretty much any name at the position that has come up as a potential trade/cut candidate has been linked to the Bears.”

One of those names is Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter — the most established and successful edge rusher in the NFL who remains a candidate to swap uniforms ahead of September.

Danielle Hunter is Holding Out for New Contract or Trade From Vikings

GettyMinnesota Vikings pass rusher Danielle Hunter is seeking a new contract in 2023 and could end up a trade candidate for the Chicago Bears ahead of training camp in late July. 

Hunter has been building toward a new contract and/or trade demand all offseason long.

The three-time Pro Bowler skipped voluntary workouts in May before blowing off mandatory minicamp in June, the latter move costing him tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to make his point. Before all that, Hunter wiped Vikings imagery from his social media accounts in the fashion of former teammate Za’Darius Smith, who Minnesota eventually traded to the Cleveland Browns for a couple of fifth-round picks.

Hunter is entering into the final season of a five-year, $72 million contract with the Vikings. However, due to the way the deal is structured, he is scheduled to make only $5.5 million in guaranteed salary and bonuses in 2023.

The outside linebacker has a recent history of injury, missing the entirety of 2020 with a neck issue that required surgery before tearing his pectoral in 2021. The latter injury cost him the final 10 contests of the campaign.

That said, Hunter is also a three-time Pro Bowler (2018, 2019, 2022). He led the Vikings with 10.5 sacks last season, adding 34 quarterback hits and 22 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Reference. Hunter will turn 29 years old in October and is looking to secure a long-term deal to protect him against further injury as well as the decline in compensation NFL players often suffer after they hit the age of 30.

Bears Have Draft Capital Necessary to Trade for Vikings OLB Danielle Hunter

GettyEdge rusher Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings rushes the quarterback during a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in January 2023. 

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on June 12 that the Vikings would prefer to hold onto Hunter, which means that negotiations on a trade are likely to start at a second-round pick and go up from there.

The Bears currently hold the rights to eight draft choices in 2024, including two first-rounders (their own and one from the Carolina Panthers) as well as one second-round selection, one third-round pick and two fourth-round choices (their own and one from the Philadelphia Eagles), per NBC Sports Chicago.

The amount of draft capital at the Bears’ disposal makes the second-round pick that Fowler is predicting as a necessity to nab Hunter an asset with which Chicago can afford to part. A second- and a fourth-round pick is probably too steep of a package for Hunter given his injury concerns. Though, a second-rounder and a sixth-rounder in 2024 is a price the Bears can pay for a player who would walk into training camp on day 1 as the team’s best pass-rushing threat by a wide margin.

The Chicago Bears are a little more than two months away from having to make 53-man roster decisions for the 2023 season, but there is one former first-round draft pick who already projects to be on the roster bubble in August.

On June 19, The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain put together a 53-man roster projection for the Bears following the completion of their offseason program and notably left 24-year-old Alex Leatherwood off the list of offensive linemen he believes will make the roster. He wasn’t alone, either, as Nicholas Moreano of CHGO published his own roster prediction on June 20 and also had Leatherwood missing the cut for the Bears.

“As far as the roster projection goes, there’s no doubt about the top six. [Ja’Tyre] Carter, who got reps with the first team in [Nate] Davis’ absence, and [Larry] Borom, the top reserve tackle with the versatility to play either side, make the most sense,” Fishbain wrote. “After that, it could be anyone among [Dieter] Eiselen, Doug Kramer or Alex Leatherwood.

“We’ll give the mid-June nod to Eiselen, who has the versatility to play center or guard. Ask me tomorrow, and it might be Kramer or Leatherwood, or even Kellen Diesch, who played second-team left tackle this spring and could also work his way into the mix.”

Leatherwood Disappointed in Limited 2022 Showing

The Bears claimed Leatherwood — the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft — from the Las Vegas Raiders following last preseason’s 53-man roster cuts, essentially taking an affordable flier on a former first-round talent who, at the time, had three years and $5.9 million fully guaranteed left on his rookie contract. The acquisition, however, did not lead to anything meaningful for the Bears in Leatherwood’s first season in Chicago.

Three days after the Bears’ season-opening win against San Francisco, Leatherwood landed on the reserve/non-football illness list with what Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported to be mononucleosis and spent the next six weeks on the list before getting activated again on October 28. It took another month after his activation for him to finally make his Bears debut against the Green Bay Packers in Week 13, and even then he only played a handful of snaps (10) at the right tackle position.

It was a promising start for Leatherwood, who allowed zero pressures on his seven pass-blocking snaps against the Packers, but he struggled in his follow-up game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He played 17 offensive snaps with 10 as a pass-blocker and yielded four pressures, three hurries and one sack against the Super Bowl runner-ups.

After that, the Bears buried Leatherwood on the depth chart and only played him for five more offensive snaps on the year, moving him to guard for their season finale.

Surely, Leatherwood gets cut some slack for not getting to spend a full offseason learning the Bears’ offensive system with the rest of his teammates. Spending nearly three months recovering from mono also likely didn’t help his adjustment process, but none of that changes the fact that Leatherwood is entering a make-or-break training camp with the Bears in 2023 that could end with him searching for his next team.

Can Bears Unlock Leatherwood’s Potential for 2023?

GettyThe Bears could still unlock Alex Leatherwood’s first-round potential for 2023.

Leatherwood’s career outlook at this point is, in a word, bleak. The team that made a first-round investment in him didn’t even keep him around for a second season, and he has done nothing since to distinguish himself as a competent lineman for the Bears. With a somewhat worrying need for quality depth, though, the Bears have all the reason in the world to hold out hope that they can unlock Leatherwood’s potential for 2023.

There are few doubts about the Bears’ starting offensive line heading into 2023 camp. Braxton Jones returns as their starting left tackle after a promising rookie season, while Teven Jenkins (left guard) and Cody Whitehair (center) are each also returning to the starting lineup in new positions. To patch the rest of the holes, the Bears signed veteran right guard Nate Davis to a three-year contract and cashed in their first-round pick (No. 10 overall) on former Tennessee standout Darnell Wright, their new right tackle.

While the Bears do have a solidified group of starters, though, one injury could unravel the entire thing based on the current depth personnel on their roster.

That’s where Leatherwood could earn his keep. The Bears seem more interested in playing him on the inside at one of their guard positions based on where he played during OTAs, but it works to his advantage that he can also play right tackle if they ever need someone to fill in on short notice. If he can string together strong performances on the interior during the preseason and outshine one of Carter, Eiselen or Borom, there could be a spot waiting for him on the 53-man roster after all.

One additional incentive for the Bears to keep the faith with Leatherwood is the contract they inherited from the Raiders. According to Over the Cap, Chicago would actually lose about $2.62 million in cap space if they released Leatherwood any time between now and the start of the 2023 regular season. The move would also leave them with $4.59 million in dead money for the upcoming year, which is something the cash-flush Bears certainly afford to take on, but it might be against their best interests with a need for offensive line depth and the potential for Leatherwood to realize his potential.

Don’t forget; If Leatherwood does show growth for the Bears in 2023 and becomes a competent member of their offensive line with starter upside, they would still have him locked down for the 2024 season on a rookie contract. They can also decide to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2025 season next May if he exceeds expectations.

Former Chicago Bears starting inside linebacker Alec Ogletree is hanging up his cleats and calling it a career after playing nine seasons in the NFL.

In a lengthy Instagram post on June 20, 2023, Ogletree announced he is retiring from the league at the age of 31 and thanked all four of the teams that employed him during his tenure as a pro inside linebacker, including the team that selected him in the first round of the NFL draft — the Los Angeles Rams — when he came into the NFL in 2013.

“And just like that, it’s a wrap,” Ogletree wrote on his Instagram on Tuesday afternoon. “Thank you [NFL],  [Rams], [New York Giants], [New York Jets and Bears] for allowing me to play nine unforgettable years in the league!!! Thank you to all my teammates that I got a chance to play with and know over the years!!”

Ogletree played for the Bears during Matt Nagy’s final season as head coach in 2021, originally signing as a depth contributor in training camp but quickly ascending to a starting role alongside Roquan Smith while Danny Trevathan struggled with injuries. He went on to start in 16 of 17 games for them at the inside linebacker spot, marking the final season of his playing career (as he went unsigned and did not play in 2022).

Several of Ogletree’s former Bears teammates — including Smith, Darnell Mooney and Andy Dalton — also shared some congratulatory words with him on his Instagram post.

“My guy!” Smith commented. “Appreciate you and all the game. Crazy how growing up watching you [at] Georgia — to then going to war [with] you. Much love & respect.”

Bears Entering New Era for Linebacker Corps in 2023

While a Bears linebacker of recent past has now written his final NFL chapter, all eyes in Chicago are fixed on the linebackers of the future after general manager Ryan Poles made significant investments in the position during the 2023 offseason.

The Bears were in need of an influx of talent for their linebacker corps heading into the start of the new league year on March 15. They had traded Smith to the Ravens at the November 1 deadline last season and did not retain any of the veterans — Nicholas Morrow, Matthew Adams and Joe Thomas — that finished the season with them. The only promising piece set to return was 2022 undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn, who stepped up after Smith’s departure but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 15.

The Bears wasted no time correcting that issue, though, handing out long-term contracts to former Buffalo Bills star Tremaine Edmunds (four years, $72 million) and Philadelphia Eagles standout T.J. Edwards (three years, $19.5 million) to completely revamp the unit for the second year of Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense. They also signed 29-year-old Dylan Cole to give themselves more veteran depth in the room for 2023.

Additionally, the Bears used one of their fifth-round picks (No. 148 overall) to select Oregon standout Noah Sewell in the 2023 draft. While initial projections had him serving as a depth piece behind the starting trio of Edwards, Edmunds and Sanborn, Sewell took advantage of his extending playing time during OTAs with Sanborn still nursing his injured ankle and could legitimately push Sanborn for his starting job.

Regardless of how the battle shakes out, the Bears appear to have assembled their best linebacker unit — from top to bottom — in years heading into the 2023 season.

Jack Sanborn Will ‘Be The Starter’ to Begin Camp

GettyJack Sanborn will be the Bears’ starting strongside linebacker to begin training camp.

Speaking of Sewell potentially challenging Sanborn for his starting job, the competition between the two of them could be one of the most compelling battles of the summer for the Bears when they officially kick off training camp on July 25.

Eberflus made it clear during the final week of offseason workouts that the starting strongside linebacker job will belong to Sanborn to open camp. The Bears expect him to be 100% in time for camp and are eager to see if he can pick up where he left off in 2022 despite moving away from the middle linebacker spot, where Edmunds will now play. In other words, Sewell would most likely have to decidedly beat out Sanborn in camp to have a shot at prying away the starting job from the former undrafted rookie.

“We’ll see where he goes,” Eberflus said about Sewell on June 13. “With rookies, it’s always ‘know what to do first.’ So he knows his assignment so he can do it fast. He’s getting better at it. We love his instincts. He’s a very instinctual player.

“And so is Jack. Jack is a very instinctual player, plays multiple positions for us. But Jack will be the starter there going into it (training camp) and then we’ll see what Noah can do to press him.”

In an effort to improve his pass-rushing abilities ahead of 2023 training camp, Chicago Bears defensive end Trevis Gipson is stepping into the octagon during the break to learn a thing or two from one of the city’s star heavyweight fighters.

Over the weekend, the Bears shared a video to their social media accounts of Gipson getting a behind-the-scenes look at how Chicago’s own Daniel James prepared for his fight against Gokhan Saricam on Saturday night for the Bellator 297 main card. James is currently the No. 4 ranked heavyweight in Bellator MMA with a 15-7-1 record and likely had a few pointers to show the 27-year-old about power in his pass-rush moves.

“So if Trevis got me here, he’s a big dude. If he was an MMA fighter, boy this would be an ugly monster,” James said. “So man, it that would be an ugly scene to see, boy.”

While the video only showed about 90 seconds of Gipson’s session with James, it could certainly help the Bears pass rusher broaden his scope when working to improve his pass-rush toolkit for the upcoming season. Some of the league’s highest-profile pass rushers, such as Myles Garrett, have used boxing and other martial arts to enhance their abilities in the trenches, so perhaps Gipson can take advantage of the crossover.

Trevis Gipson Striving for Bounce-Back Year in 2023

Gipson tends to be one of the least-discussed Bears entering a contract year in 2023, mostly because his performance last season — three sacks and 30 pressures — fell well short of expectations on a defensive line that desperately needed a pass-rushing force.

Gipson seemed to be on the cusp of a breakout in 2021 when he recorded seven sacks and forced five fumbles working opposite Robert Quinn for the Bears. The arrival of Matt Eberflus and his new 4-3 defensive scheme, though, forced him to convert from an outside linebacker to a hand-in-the-ground defensive end, creating a steeper learning curve for his third season.

Things only got tougher for Gipson once Quinn was traded at the November 1 deadline and he rose to the top edge-rushing role. Opposing teams began double-teaming him at a far more frequent rate, leaving him to finish the 2022 season as the fifth-most double-teamed edge rusher in the league — according to ESPN Analytics — behind only Za’Darius Smith, Jerry Hughes, Myles Garrett and Aidan Hutchinson.

Fortunately for Gipson, the Bears remain confident in his ability to bounce back in 2023. According to Heavy Sports insider Matt Lombardo’s league source, the Bears drafted interior defensive linemen instead of edge rushers in the 2023 draft partly because of how confident they are in Gipson’s pass-rushing potential. The source also added that a strong year could earn him a lucrative contract extension with Chicago.

“I’d think if he can get somewhere between 7.0 and double-digit sacks,” Lombardo’s source said, “that should be enough to get a deal done.”

Will Bears Sign Another Pass Rusher Before Camp?

The Bears have made some improvements to their edge-rushing spots since the end of the 2022 season. They signed veterans DeMarcus Walker (three years, $21 million) and Rasheem Green (one year, $2.5 million) to add more depth alongside Gipson and 2022 fifth-rounder Dominique Robinson, giving them a far steadier group of run-stoppers.

Nevertheless, the Bears have continued to suggest they are looking to add another pass rusher to the edge of their defensive line, potentially before the start of training camp on July 25. Some of the top post-draft veterans, such as Frank Clark and former Bear Leonard Floyd, have been taken off the board in the last few weeks, but there are still some quality veterans available who could add a boost to the Bears’ worst unit.

“We love the guys that are here, of course, but our job is to always make the roster better, right?” Eberflus said. “And we’re always going to be looking to upgrade in certain spots that we need to. The premium positions, of course, are first, and then the roleplayers are second, and that’s our job as GM and head football coach.”

Yannick Ngakoue is the best of the remaining veterans and has the proven sack production that should entice the Bears. He has tallied 19.5 sacks over the past two years and never finished a single one of his seven seasons with fewer than eight sacks. The 28-year-old has said he wants to sign a multi-year deal with a contender, but the Bears could potentially convince him of their potential to contend in the next few years.

There is also Justin Houston, who is much older at 35 but is coming off a fantastic 9.5-sack season for the Baltimore Ravens. Additionally, Houston spent two seasons working as a defensive end for Eberflus during their time together with the Indianapolis Colts and would have plug-and-play familiarity with his defensive scheme in Chicago.

Justin Fields and Jordan Love are going to be featured parts of one of the biggest rivalries in football in 2023 as the starting quarterbacks of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Off the field, though, the pair of former first-round picks don’t mind sharing the spotlight to raise the international prestige of football.

After June 15’s final veteran minicamp practice, Fields told reporters that he was heading to France to host a quarterback camp during this past holiday week and revealed that he would be running the camp alongside Love as well as Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson — who share an agent in David Mulugheta.

“It’s going to be my first time in Europe,” Fields said Thursday. “Jordan Love’s gonna be up there, Deshaun Watson, so guys that I usually work with in the offseason a pretty good amount, they’re going to be out there. So, we’re just going to host a little football camp out there, and I”m just excited to be out there and be able to teach some kids overseas about American football.”

Fields and Love training together in the offseason isn’t a new revelation. With the same talent agency, Athletes First, representing them, there have been plenty of times in the past two offseasons where the two NFC North quarterbacks have hit the practice field together. Watson is also usually involved for the same reasons, dating back to the summer of 2021 when he was embroiled in numerous sexual misconduct allegations.

Whether that offseason relationship will change next year, though, remains to be seen. The upcoming 2023 season is the first where Fields and Love will have an opportunity to get head-to-head as the starting quarterbacks of rival teams. Friendship — and agent ties — may keep them close regardless, but the Bears and Packers rivalry has been known to get contentious and could lead to them being less ‘buddy-buddy’ in the future.

Justin Fields Planning Pre-Camp Training With WRs

After wrapping minicamp last week, the Bears are now scheduled to have about five weeks off until the official start of 2023 training camp on July 25. Fields, however, says he is planning to assemble his wide receivers, tight ends and running backs for a few more days of work before then to ensure the offense is on the same page together.

Chemistry is going to be one of the most important factors for Fields and his weapons heading into the 2023 season. He and Darnell Mooney are in sync from spending the past two seasons together, but there is still work to do with several of the new guys, such as D.J. Moore, Chase Claypool (who missed the final three weeks of offseason workouts with an injury) and fourth-round rookie Tyler Scott.

“I just think that everyone is buying in, even more than last year,” Fields said. “For me, I’ve definitely grown as a leader. Even with all the new guys coming in, they’ve made it easy, they’ve bought into our control here and just competing day in and day out and really just having that championship mindset. We’re all working toward the same goal, all working toward getting better, and I think we’ve just got to take it a day at a time.”

Justin Fields ‘Taking Ownership’ of Bears Offense

The Bears have done a fine job over the past several months building up a better offense around Fields. In addition to finding new receiving weapons — including former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan Jr. — they have also added two more starters to their offensive line in Nate Davis and first-round rookie Darnell Wright and revamped their backfield, adding D’Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer alongside Khalil Herbert to account for the loss of David Montgomery in free agency.

Whether those weapons add to up greater success, though, largely hinges on Fields. He flashed some prolific passing ability in bursts during the 2022 season but finished the year largely still in questionable territory as a passer, particularly in terms of his short- and intermediate-pass accuracy. Fortunately, most of the insider reports coming out of Halas Hall this summer suggest Fields has done the work to position himself for a leap.

“The people I’ve spoken to out of Chicago say that Justin Fields is ‘slingin’ it’ this offseason and that he’s had a nice command of the Bears offense,” NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said on ESPN during the weekend. “He’s changing plays at the line of scrimmage and feels good about taking ownership of things.”

The Chicago Bears are priming Justin Fields for a big step forward in 2023, but they remain one move shy of securing their franchise QB’s future success.

Before the blockbuster deal for D.J. Moore this offseason, ahead of the mid-season move for Chase Claypool at last year’s trade deadline and prior to the season-ending injury to Darnell Mooney, there was stalwart tight end Cole Kmet. The 6’6″, 260-pound headache for opposing defenses led Chicago in every major receiving category in 2022 as Fields’ most reliable target start to finish.

The Bears added former Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan on a one-year deal, but there’s no question who the alpha dog is in the position group. Chicago would be wise to pay Kmet as such this offseason and lock him in long-term, as the team’s trajectory from the NFL’s cellar is ready to travel a sharp incline.

Cole Kmet Arguably Most Crucial Extension for Bears This Offseason

GettyTight end Cole Kmet and quarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears celebrate a touchdown during a game against the Miami Dolphins in November 2022.

Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Monday, June 19, described Kmet’s as the most important extension for Chicago to complete ahead of the regular season.

Extending tight end Cole Kmet, who will be a free agent in 2024, is the next logical step for Chicago. The 24-year-old emerged as Fields’ most reliable target in 2022 and developed chemistry with his quarterback throughout the season.

Kmet led the Bears in receptions (50), receiving yards (544) and receiving touchdowns (7) last year. He also provided a quarterback rating of 105.0 when targeted. Over the past two years, Kmet has averaged 55 receptions, 578 yards and four touchdowns.

Keeping Kmet should be among the team’s top priorities. With a league-high [$32 million] in cap space, Chicago can and should extend him a year before hitting the open market becomes a possibility.

Kmet, a former second-round pick (No. 43) overall in 2020, is entering the final season of his four-year, $7.6 million rookie contract. Spotrac projects his market value at $11.3 million annually over another four-year contract.

Bears QB Justin Fields Poised to Make Leap in 3rd NFL Season

GettyChicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy believes Justin Fields is ‘light-years ahead’ of where he was in 2022.

Given Kmet’s age, durability and consistent production over his first three professional campaigns, a new deal should be a no-brainer. Despite the addition of Moore and Tonyan, there is an argument to be made that Kmet’s numbers will continue to improve as Fields develops into the best version of himself.

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy spoke with the media on June 7, during which he lauded the quarterback’s development over the last several months.

“Justin is someone that is super focused, works his tail off in every aspect of it — the physical part of it, the on-field part of it, the training part of it. And then in the meeting room, he is focused,” Getsy said. “The types of conversations we’re having now in that room are really [on] a different level than they were last year as far as where he can go with his growth.”

Fields was already near-historic as a rusher from the quarterback position in 2022, amassing 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns on a league-leading 7.1 yards per carry, according to Pro Football Reference. Chicago has since built an entirely new right side of the offensive line, signing guard Nate Davis and drafting rookie tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick.

While there remains some reason for apprehension on Fields’ blindside, the Bears are clearly committed to easing their quarterback’s path to stardom, and locking Kmet into that equation is the next move up.

The latest rumor buzz about Chase Claypool has given the impression that the fourth-year receiver is not living up to the Chicago Bears’ expectations for him so far in the 2023 offseason, but former Bears scout Greg Gabriel begs to differ.

In a June 17 article for Windy City Gridiron, Gabriel called out the “false” narrative that has emerged about Claypool in the last week, spawning from Marc Silverman — co-host of ESPN 1000’s ‘Waddle & Silvy’ — saying on the air that he has heard from “a few people inside” the organization that Claypool “isn’t trending in the right direction.”

“All I can tell you is, it isn’t trending in a way that the Bears have wanted it to trend in this offseason,” Silverman said last Wednesday, June 14. “Chase Claypool is a guy that they have wanted to see some things from. They have not been able to see those things from him, on and off the field. All those things don’t sound great for Claypool going into training camp on where they think he’s going to be.”

Hearing that report, Gabriel felt compelled to share details of a “private conversation” he had with Bears general manager Ryan Poles back in the spring, one that included the two of them discussing his decision to trade a premium draft pick for Claypool last fall.

“Poles told me he realized that many fans and media were unhappy with the trade because he had to give up what turned out to be the 32nd pick,” Gabriel wrote. “He also said that the results of the trade have not been seen yet and that he fully expects Claypool to have a big year. He added, ‘If I had the chance to do the trade all over, it would take me about five seconds to say yes.'”

Gabriel also closed out with a friendly reminder about offseason news: “Don’t believe everything you hear, especially if it’s negative. In most cases, it’s a narrative that some want to push regardless of if it’s true or not. In this case, there s no truth to the rumor.”

Bears Signaling Improvement From Chase Claypool

It can be understandably concerning when a report emerges that a key playmaker has been disappointing or making his current team unhappy — especially when the team gave up a significant amount of draft capital to acquire that player in the first place. But as Gabriel mentioned in his article, the Bears have projected nothing but positive and encouraging things about Claypool when talking about him to the media.

“If you have listened closely to all the different pressers since Poles and [head coach Matt Eberflus] have been here, they let it be known when they have a problem with a player,” Gabriel wrote. “They don’t throw him under the bus, but they let it be known that they expect more. With Claypool, there has been none of that, just positives.”

The comments the Bears have made throughout the past several weeks have even directly contradicted what Silverman is reporting. He said there are concerns about his motivation and work ethic, but quarterback Justin Fields sang his praises in that regard during the first week of OTAs, noting his “work ethic” and “attitude change” and adding that he has “improved tremendously” from the end of the 2022 season to now.

Silverman also insinuated that Claypool is still having trouble learning and fitting into the offense, but Eberflus specifically said that he believes Claypool is more comfortable now and knows “the formations, the motions and knows the route disciplines” after putting in a full offseason of work into properly learning Luke Getsy’s system.

In other words, it’s up to you who you believe; You can take a radio co-host at his word that people inside the Bears organization are leaking their unhappiness with Claypool or you can choose to believe the former scout with four decades in the business and, you know, the head coach, general manager and quarterback who express the opposite.

Reports Aside, Claypool Must Rise to the Occasion

Regardless of what is true about the organization’s feelings toward Claypool, the 24-year-old has an opportunity to rise to the occasion as one of the Bears’ starting wide receivers during the 2023 season — and, frankly, it isn’t one that he can afford to let pass him by if he wants to get his NFL career back on the right trajectory.

Claypool is heading into the final year of his rookie contract in 2023 and will need to have a strong season if he wants the Bears to consider signing him to a new extension. The playmaking ability that he showcased over his first two years in Pittsburgh was enough for Poles to make an aggressive trade to get him, but it will all be for naught if he is unable to take a meaningful step forward from the 14 catches and 140 yards that he produced over seven games in his first half-season with the Bears in 2022.

Fortunately, there is a sizable upside with Claypool. At 6-foot-4, he is at least three inches taller than every other receiver on the Bears’ roster with the exception of Equanimeous St. Brown (6-5) and knows how to use those physical gifts both to win against press coverage off the line of scrimmage and to go up and make contested grabs. His 238-pound frame also gives him a tight end-esque advantage when chipping in as a blocker, which is an essential part of Getsy’s outside zone blocking scheme.

If Claypool can get healthy and figure out how to put it all together on the field for the Bears once the season begins, he could end up being one of their most potent weapons.

The Chicago Bears are far from set in the secondary and a veteran difference maker remains available for the taking in free agency.

Ronald Darby has been a starting cornerback since his career began as a second-round pick (No. 50 overall) of the Buffalo Bills in 2015, including in every game he’s played over the past two seasons with the Denver Broncos as a member of one of the league’s premier defenses.

Despite a wealth of experience that includes a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, Darby won’t turn 30 years old until January 2024. Given his age and résumé, it’s hard to figure how Darby is still available with training camps just around the corner — until his injury history comes up in discussion.

Darby suffered an ACL tear last October that has sidelined him since and resulted in Denver releasing him in March to save $9.6 million against its salary cap. While the injury renders Darby a considerable risk, it also lowers his price point and makes him a sensible fit for a team like the Bears who have an incomplete secondary and more than $32 million in remaining cap space.

Ronald Darby Was Elite in Coverage With Broncos in 2022

GettyFormer Denver Broncos cornerback Ronald Darby breaks up a pass during an NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Darby signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Broncos in 2021 after a healthy season in Washington that saw him defend 16 passes in 16 starts and surrender a collective completion percentage of just 54.1% to opposing quarterbacks, per Pro Football Reference.

But the cornerback’s health didn’t hold once he landed in Denver. Darby appeared in fewer than half of the Broncos’ regular season games over the next two years, playing in and starting 16 out of a possible 34 contests.

The ACL tear robbed him of the final 11 games of the campaign, marking the third time in the last six years that Darby failed to register double-digit appearances during a regular season. Two of the three years during that stretch in which he has hit double digits, Darby capped out at 11 total games played.

While that all might sound like more of an argument for the Bears not to pursue Darby, there is a value play to be made by inking him to a one- or two-year contract. The cornerback played in 29 of 32 contests across his first two seasons in the league and has spent the last eight months rehabilitating his knee. He should be available on a relatively cheap contract, the terms of which Chicago will have the leverage to dictate.

Beyond that, Darby was exceptional in 2022 when he was on the field. He recorded 14 tackles, three pass breakups and a forced fumble, as well as held opposing quarterbacks to a combined completion percentage of 38.9% and a rating of 69.9 on 17 targets. Darby afforded opposing offenses just 73 yards gained through the air and one touchdown.

If the cornerback can muster 12 starts, give or take, in 2023 and produce a similar stat line, he will be worth considerably more to the Bears than whatever contract number it ultimately takes to sign him.

Ronald Darby Can Meaningfully Help Bears Secondary if Healthy

GettyCornerback Ronald Darby, formerly of the Denver Broncos, tackles wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., formerly of the Cleveland Browns, during an NFL game.

Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report on Tuesday, June 13, named Darby the sixth-best available free agent under 30 years old. He was also the top cornerback on the list and the second highest-rated defensive back behind safety John Johnson III, most recently of the Cleveland Browns.

Darby hasn’t been a fringe starter. At his best, he was among one of the NFL’s better players in coverage. Big plays have never been his thing (eight career interceptions), and durability has been an issue at times … but in each of the past three seasons Darby has posted a passer rating against of less than 85. Before getting hurt last year, Darby was playing some of the best football of his career.

Darby isn’t going to land the sort of contract the Broncos gave him back in 2021 … but if he can show his rehab is progressing well, there are a number of teams who would benefit from a steadying veteran presence in the secondary.

Chicago clearly numbers among those teams, as ESPN currently lists cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson as the team’s two starters. Stevenson is a second-round rookie out of Miami who has yet to play a snap in the NFL, while Johnson is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie deal and has yet to sign an extension after tallying just one interception in his professional career.

The Chicago Bears still lead the NFL in cap space but that hasn’t stopped the team from being discerning with where it spends its money.

Central to that discussion is cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who is heading into the fourth and final season on his rookie contract and has yet to sign an extension in Chicago. Some drama has unfolded in that regard since organized team activities (OTAs) began last month. Johnson skipped some of those workouts in May, a move that was flanked by both preceding and subsequent comments from general manager Ryan Poles and Johnson, respectively, about the cornerback’s status with the Bears long-term.

Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported on Thursday, June 15, that a new deal for Johnson in Chicago remains uncertain given his performance across the last three years and Poles’ tendencies toward pre-regime change players since joining the franchise last offseason.

Johnson said his absence from the first two weeks of OTAs in May stemmed from wanting to spend time with his 3-year-old daughter and fundraise for his nonprofit foundation, not because the 24-year-old does not have a new contract. Bears general manager Ryan Poles has yet to re-sign any player drafted by Chicago before his arrival in 2022, but he did say in April that Johnson, a second-round pick in 2020, is a player he hopes he’ll get “to keep here for a while.”

When he returned for the final week of OTAs, Johnson also expressed his desire to stay with the Bears long-term and said he is planning to find a new agent. Johnson’s one interception over three seasons may affect how much the Bears, with an estimated $32.5 million in cap space, are willing to spend.

Actions of Jaylon Johnson, Bears Indicate Contract Extension for CB Unlikely Ahead of 2023 Season

GettyCornerback Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears in action during a game against the San Francisco 49ers in September 2022. 

Despite the words on both sides of the contract standoff, the actions speak louder.

Johnson would have needed to show up for only five days of workouts in the month of May and another on June 1 to display a level of commitment to the franchise. In the meantime, Poles could have made a meaningful and good-faith contract offer to Johnson, even if said offer would have come in under Johnson’s asking price, and made that news public. That neither happened/has happened means more than whatever lines Johnson and Poles are currently selling to the media.

The cornerback and franchise presumably have yet to even sit down across from one another at the negotiating table, based on Cronin’s report that Johnson is seeking a new agent. If no agreement is reached, Johnson will play out the last year of his $6.5 million rookie deal in 2023. Spotrac projects his market value at $7.7 million annually over a three-year deal should Johnson sign a new contract now, though that projection could rise or fall based on the cornerback’s performance this season.

Jaylon Johnson Has Started Every Game He Has Played for Bears Across Last 3 Years

GettyCornerback Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears is eligible for a contract extension heading into the final year of his rookie deal in 2023.

Johnson’s production has been short of outstanding and represents a failure to live up to his draft position after Chicago selected him No. 50 overall in the second round in 2020.

The cornerback has played in and started 39 of a possible 50 regular season games over his three-year NFL career. He has just one interception, as Cronin noted, and has registered 125 tackles, including three tackles for loss, 31 pass breakups and two forced fumbles during his professional tenure.

Johnson surrendered a collective completion percentage of 58.8% and a collective quarterback rating of 94.6 to opposing QBs across 11 starts in 2022, per Pro Football Reference. He has also allowed 8.9 yards per target in two of his three seasons and a total of 11 receiving touchdowns in pass coverage since entering the league.

The Chicago Bears are counting on their 2022 trade for wide receiver Chase Claypool to pay off for their offense in the upcoming 2023 season, but the latest insider report suggests there are doubts brewing among people at Halas Hall.

Earlier this week on ESPN 1000’s ‘Waddle & Silvy,’ co-host Marc Silverman revealed that “a few people inside [the Bears’] building” have been unhappy with the way that things have been “trending” with Claypool this offseason. He also clarified that it has been things both “on and off the field” that has Chicago’s staff concerned about him.

“I have heard from a few people inside that building that he is not somebody who is very self-motivated. There’s a long way to go. Chase Claypool can change the narrative,” Silverman said June 14. “All I can tell you is, it isn’t trending in a way that the Bears have wanted it to trend in this offseason.”

The Bears have remained optimistic about Claypool’s upside for their offense after a disastrous half-season in Chicago in 2022 saw him catch just 14 passes for 140 yards, but he missed three of the team’s four weeks of organized team activities (OTAs) over the past month — including veteran minicamp — due to an undisclosed injury. If there are issues extending beyond his health, though, it could be a much more troubling situation for the Bears, who are hoping to take a big step forward offensively in 2023.

“Chase Claypool is a guy that they have wanted to see some things from,” Silverman continued. “They have not been able to see those things from him, on and off the field. All those things don’t sound great for Claypool going into training camp on where they think he’s going to be.”

Will Bears Come to Regret Chase Claypool Trade?

The Bears were not panicking about the Claypool trade when the 2022 season ended. Even though he had given up a second-round pick that essentially became a first-round pick (No. 32 overall since Miami forfeited their 2023 first-rounder), general manager Ryan Poles said he was “not blinking at that one at all” and felt comfortable he could improve with a full offseason to learn the playbook and build chemistry with Fields.

Will Poles still feel the same way if Claypool looks ill-prepared for camp, though?

The logic behind the Claypool trade made sense. Poles looked ahead to a disappointing class of free agent receivers and opted to make a trade for a young, big-bodied receiver with some good play on his resume in hopes it would pan out. The price was a little steep, but — according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter — the Green Bay Packers had also been making “aggressive attempts” to acquire Claypool at the deadline and offered a package of picks that included their own second-rounder, so it wasn’t an overpay for nothing.

Unfortunately, the potential for the trade to backfire is enormous. Claypool could still prove to be who the Bears believe he is and become a meaningful contributor for their offense in 2023, even if the rumors of a disappointing offseason are true. But if he fizzles out and departs in free agency quietly next offseason, it could go down as the biggest mistake in Poles’ tenure as Chicago’s general manager.

Justin Fields Has Noted ‘Attitude’ Change in Claypool

GettyChase Claypool has drawn praise from Justin Fields for his growth this offseason.

While Silverman’s report about Claypool does indeed not sound great for the Bears, it is also contrary to what quarterback Justin Fields said about him earlier in the offseason.

“Chase has improved tremendously just from the end of last year to now,” Fields said on May 23. “Just see his work ethic, his attitude change, you can just he’s taken another step, so definitely excited for that. And we don’t even have [Darnell] Mooney right now in practice, so once we get him back, it’s gonna be awesome, so [I’m] very excited.”

Fields’ comments did come before Claypool was sidelined with his injury issues, but the message behind them certainly paints a different, more favorable picture of the former second-round receiver. Eberflus was also similarly complimentary of Claypool on the same day, saying he has noticed an improvement in his “comfort level” with the offense, particularly with his knowledge of “formations” and “route disciplines.”

Could Fields and Eberflus simply be talking up Claypool to encourage him? Sure, it’s possible. But given their praise was specifically centered around his “attitude” and knowledge of the offense, it raises questions about the validity of Silverman’s intel.

The Chicago Bears now know the asking price for one of the top remaining veteran pass rushers on the free agent market, should they decide to pursue him for their roster before the official start of training camp on July 25.

According to Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune, veteran defensive end Yannick Ngakoue — who has been a fan-favorite target for the Bears throughout the offseason — has been looking to get paid “in the range of $8 million to $10 million per year” on his next contract. The 28-year-old has also previously said he wants to sign a “multi-year deal” with a contender that can offer him a “stable home” for the foreseeable future.

“One source with a team monitoring the edge rusher market said, as of a month ago, Ngakoue was seeking a contract in the range of $8 million to $10 million per year,” Biggs wrote in his June 15 article. “Recent market activity for [Leonard] Floyd ($7 million base salary) and [Frank] Clark ($5.5 million base) has been below that, and both veterans signed one-year deals.”

Ngakoue, a 2017 Pro Bowler, has been a sack machine for the duration of his seven-year career, never finishing a season with fewer than eight sacks and logging 19.5 over the past two years in his stops with the Las Vegas Raiders (2021) and Indianapolis Colts (2022). While there are questions about his competence as a run defender, he has the proven success as a pass rusher to offer a much-needed boost to the end of the defensive line after the Bears finished with a league-low 20 sacks in 2022.

Bears Can Afford Ngakoue, But Is He a Long-Term Fit?

In essence, Ngakoue’s reported price tag provides a clearer picture of what teams can expect to invest in him if they hope to secure his services for the 2023 season. He is looking to make somewhere between $8 million and $10 million per year on a multi-year contract and wants to plant roots with a contender — or at least a team that believes its title window could be opening up in the next season or two, such as Chicago.

Financially speaking, the Bears can afford an investment on the high end of that range with about $32.5 million in effective cap space left for 2023 and nearly $97 million in 2024. They could realistically offer Ngakoue a two-year, $20 million deal that would put him in the top 25 highest-paid edge rushers in the league, but the bigger question is — with an emphasis on youth — whether the Bears are invested in putting that much money into a veteran who will be pushing 30 by the end of the 2024 season.

General manager Ryan Poles has made some big acquisitions both via trade (D.J. Moore) and free agency (Tremaine Edmunds) in his first two offseasons, but he has also demonstrated an interest in rebuilding the core of the Bears’ roster with drafted talent. Rather than spend big money on an aging player, he might prefer to be patient and see how the current edge-rushing group performs in 2023, then address the problem in the 2024 draft — where he has two first-round selections — if the gamble doesn’t pay off.

What Are Bears’ Other Non-Trade Options at EDGE?

GettyDawuane Smoot is another free agent edge rusher who could appeal to the Bears for 2023.

The Bears have continued to hint at their interest in potentially adding another veteran pass rusher to their roster for the 2023 season. Most recently, head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters on June 14 that he believes an edge-rusher addition could be in the cards before the start of training camp on July 25 and confirmed it is “one of the positions we’re looking at and, potentially, we could get that done.”

“We love the guys that are here, of course, but our job is to always make the roster better, right?” Eberflus said. “And we’re always going to be looking to upgrade in certain spots that we need to. The premium positions, of course, are first, and then the roleplayers are second, and that’s our job as GM and head football coach.”

At this point, though, if Ngakoue isn’t part of the plan and the trade market does not present any viable options, what options do the Bears have left to add to the room?

One option could be Dawuane Smoot, a former Jacksonville Jaguar and University of Illinois standout. He is the same age as Ngakoue (28), albeit with less sack production (22.5 career sacks), but he could offer the Bears a reliable veteran to rotate in on pass-rushing snaps. A concern with him is that he tore his Achilles in December and is still working back from the injury; however, his trainer tweeted in mid-May that he is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery.

Otherwise, the free agent options are mostly older players. Justin Houston is unsigned and notched 9.5 sacks last season for the Baltimore Ravens. While he is 34, he has remained remarkably healthy throughout the later stages of his career and could be open to signing a one-year deal to finish out his career. Melvin Ingram (34), Kyle Van Noy (32) and Trey Flowers (30) are also still on the market and — unlike recent Bears castaways Robert Quinn and Al-Quadin Muhammad — could have short-term appeal.

The Chicago Bears are looking to make a huge leap forward in 2023, which could begin with a couple of emerging stars on the roster.

Heavy’s NFL insider Matt Lombardo produced a list of the next first-time All-Pro selections at every position, which included two Bears players, one on each side of the football — middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and left guard Teven Jenkins.

Chicago signed Edmunds to a four-year, $72 million contract in March, which qualifies easily as the team’s biggest blockbuster add on defense this offseason. Jenkins, meanwhile, is entering his third season with the team after a somewhat tumultuous start to his NFL career, which has included injury issues and a position change from right guard to left guard for the upcoming year.

Tremaine Edmunds Poised to Leap From Pro Bowler to All-Pro After Joining Bears

GettyMiddle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds of the Chicago Bears stretches during OTAs in May 2023.

Edmunds has been a starter since entering the NFL as a first-round pick (No. 16 overall) with the Buffalo Bills in 2018. He has missed only eight regular season games across his five-year career, starting all 74 of the contests in which he has played.

The linebacker is a two-time Pro Bowler, earning those honors in 2019 and 2020. He is strong against the run and the pass, amassing 35 pass breakups, 18 quarterback hits, 6.5 sacks, five interceptions and two forced fumbles over the course of his professional tenure, per Pro Football Reference.

“Edmunds arrives in Chicago coming off the most dominant season of his prolific career. Once again surpassing 100 total tackles, Edmunds produced a team-high 101 [tackles] while holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 87.1. All that, only to leave Buffalo without a contract extension,” Lombardo wrote. “Given Edmunds’ productivity, his talent and the added motivation that comes with being spurned by your former team, expect big things from the centerpiece of the Bears’ revamped defense in 2023.”

Bears to Rely Heavily on Teven Jenkins to Boost Offense This Season

GettyChicago Bears offensive guard Teven Jenkins blocks during a game against the Minnesota Vikings in December 2021.

Jenkins has bounced around Chicago’s offensive line since the Bears selected him in the second round (No. 39 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft.

He started off his career playing at the offensive tackle position, appearing in six games and earning two starts. Last season, Jenkins played in 13 games, starting 11 of those, and primarily functioned as the team’s right guard. He will transition to left guard in 2023 after Chicago signed Nate Davis, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, to a three-year, $30 million deal in March.

Jenkins proved the Bears correct in their decision to transition him to the inside of the offensive front, as he earned an overall player grade of 80.7 from Pro Football Focus (PFF) in 2022, which included a run-blocking grade of 82.2 and a pass-blocking grade of 65.9. Those analytics ranked Jenkins as the third-best guard in the NFL out of 77 players who played enough snaps to qualify at the position.

“Teven Jenkins is a road grader up front in the running game, a tactician in pass protection and one of the anchors of the Chicago Bears‘ offensive line,” Lombardo wrote. “Last season, Jenkins only allowed 2.0 sacks and 12 quarterback pressures. He’s already on the cusp of breaking through as an All-Pro, and if the Bears’ offense makes major strides, this could be his season to crack the list.”

The Chicago Bears are going to be counting on major contributors from several members of their 2023 rookie draft class heading into the second year of their complete roster rebuild, but cornerback Tyrique Stevenson already seems to be reinforcing the team’s decision to trade up and get him for their defense.

Stevenson — the No. 56 overall pick in the second round — has been one of the most impressive rookies of the bunch throughout the Bears’ offseason workout program, including during OTAs, where he has secured a handful of interceptions and begun to turn the heads of his coaches with his overall approach to the training aspect.

“He’s really showed what he showed in college — really good ball skills, length, instincts, competitive. He’s shown all of those things,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said after June 13’s practice. “He’s had a couple [of] nice interceptions during the course of this offseason, and now it’s just  — I know he’s going back home to train in the summer — about him getting in elite shape to make sure he can compete how he wants to.”

More impressive has been the way Stevenson has carried himself. The six-foot, 204-pound perimeter cornerback was known for his aggressiveness and instincts during his college seasons at Miami, but the confidence and comfortability he has exuded with the first-team defense throughout offseason workouts has given the coaches the impression that the 23-year-old corner is a talent beyond his years.

“It’s a little bit ahead I would say,” Eberflus said of Stevenson’s confidence. “It seems more like a veteran to me than a rookie, which is kind of cool to be able to watch that. And he’s very confident. I think the guys gravitate toward him. He’s a likable guy because he does love football and he is competitive, so I think he fits well with [Kyler] Gordon and [Jaquan] Brisker and Eddie [Jackson] and all of those guys that are really competitive that like to grind it and like to practice.”

Tyrique Stevenson Projects as No. 2 Outside Corner

If the summer work pays off, Stevenson could have a clear path to a Day 1 starting job with the Bears defense in 2023. He is the first player that Ryan Poles has traded up to get in his first two years as general manager, and Poles indicated after he drafted him that they intend for him to play on the outside opposite Jaylon Johnson with Gordon — a 2022 second-rounder — moving into the slot to round out their starting corner group.

Earning it will still be an important part of the equation, but the odds are stacked in Stevenson’s favor. His biggest competitors for the No. 2 outside corner role are Kindle Vildor — who held the job in 2022 with mixed results  — and fellow rookie fifth-rounder Terell Smith, but Stevenson’s strong early showings and high talent ceiling could be too much for the Bears to ignore even if both challengers end up impressing, too.

Eddie Jackson Compares Rookie to Jaquan Brisker

Stevenson has done more than win over his coaches in the early days of his NFL career. The veterans have also taken note of the confidence that has allowed him to seamlessly slip into the starting secondary unit. From Eddie Jackson’s vantage, it reminds him of how strong safety Jaquan Brisker — a 17-game rookie starter in 2022 — carried himself when he was heading into his rookie year last season, particularly in the mindset.

“You see from Day 1, the type of guy he is,” Jackson said following June 13’s minicamp session. “He just kind of reminds me of Brisker [in] the mindset. [Stevenson] is coming out there, young guy, don’t care. Years in the league, that don’t matter. He just wants to go out there and ball and play. Right now, he’s stepping up to the plate. He’s accepting the challenge. In meetings, he’s taking notes. We sit right next to each other, and I feel like [cornerbacks] coach [Jon] Hoke challenges him a lot. I know sometimes he gets a little frustrated, but like I told him, it’s all going to pay off in the end.

The NFL All-Pro list is the definitive measure of a player’s stature as the elite of the elite at his position, and the honor that garners the most respect when it comes to defining legacies.

Early summer is a time when hope springs eternal for NFL teams, and players, alike, as minicamps wind down and the grind of training camp and the upcoming season await with much optimism and promise. It’s also the perfect time to project out which players will shine the brightest in the fall.

Projecting which players will wind up as a First-Team All-Pro can be a daunting task, but easy all at once, by simply placing the name of the best player at his position the prior season into your projected list for the next one.

But, in order to make things a bit more interesting, to shine the spotlight a little brighter on some of the stars of the game that are knocking on the doorstep of reaching “elite’ status, we opted instead to make the list of players most likely to become a First-Team All-Pro selection for the first time.

Here are our selections:

QB: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Hurts very nearly stole the MVP and a first-team All-Pro slot from Patrick Mahomes last season, but the stage seems set for the 24-year-old to make another significant stride in his development. Given that this will be Hurts’ second season throwing to dynamic receiver A.J. Brown, as well as DeVonta Smith’s third NFL season (when receivers typically begin to peak), all of the pieces are in place for Hurts to take his game and the Eagles’ outlook to new heights.

RB: Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

Chubb was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2022, and he’s one of the most feared backs in the game. The combination of the Browns‘ run-based scheme, an offensive line that can make a strong claim as one of the two best in the league, and Chubb’s ferocious running style give the 27-year-old a great chance to make the varsity squad in 2023.

RB: Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Running back might be the easiest position to make the leap to first-team All-Pro as a rookie. Especially when a rookie running back can expect the kind of workload Robinson can in Atlanta, combined with his explosiveness as a runner and versatility as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. If Robinson’s 104 forced missed tackles and 1,o71 yards after contact from last season at the University of Texas translate to the NFL, look out.

WR: A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

Not only was A.J. Brown a touchdown-maker, catching a career-high 11 in his first season in Philadelphia, he was a monster averaging 6.4 Yards After the Catch per Reception. If that was Brown’s introduction to the Eagles‘ offense, imagine how much more prolific he’ll be in a second season as Hurts’ favorite target.

WR: Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Chase was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2021, but each year the dynamic receiver’s chemistry seems to strengthen with quarterback Joe Burrow. Injuries limited Chase to just 12 games last season, yet he still produced 1,046 receiving yards with nine touchdowns. Given that Chase averaged 4.8 Yards after The Catch per Reception, just imagine how productive he’ll be if he can stay on the field for the entire 2023 campaign.

WR: Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

One might think that the addition of a speedster like Tyreek Hill on the other side might limit the production of a player like Waddle, but that’s not exactly how 2022 played out. Sure, Waddle only caught 75 passes (down from 104 in 2022), but his yards per catch average nearly doubled to an eye-popping 18.1. Waddle’s speed gives him the ability to take the top off a defense. Playing opposite Hill creates space. Don’t be surprised if Waddle finds a way to build on last season’s 1,356-yard and 8-touchdown outburst.

TE: T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

Hockenson was an absolute revelation to the Vikings‘ offense, after arriving in a midseason trade. The 25-year-old caught 60 passes for 519 yards with 3 touchdowns during the final 10 games of the season. With Justin Jefferson flying down the perimeter, expect there to be plenty of room for Hockenson to operate underneath, and plenty of check down targets from Kirk Cousins for him to rack up yards and touchdowns this season.

LT: Andrew Thomas, New York Giants

Andrew Thomas is one of the ascending stars along the offensive line, and the trajectory of his career has been ticking upward the past two seasons, in a big way. A Second-Team All-Pro selection in 2022, Thomas only allowed three sacks and continued to emerge as a stalwart along the Giants’ offensive line.

RT: Kaleb McGary, Atlanta Falcons

McGary is a dominant presence along the line of scrimmage, and one of the Falcons’ building blocks on offense. Last season, McGary was Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 highest-rated offensive tackle, with an 86.6 overall grade. The addition of Robinson in the backfield will give McGary even more opportunities to showcase his ability as a lead-blocker in the running game, where he posted the highest run-blocking grade of anyone not named Trent Williams, at 91.6.

LG: Joe Thuney, Kansas City Chiefs

Joe Thuney has been a stalwart of consistency throughout his career, and he has elevated his game to new heights since arriving in Kansas City in 2021. Last season, Thuney was instrumental in keeping Mahomes upright, allowing only one sack and 15 total pressures. That kind of consistency up front makes it easy for a freelancer like Mahomes to create big-play opportunities.

RG: Teven Jenkins, Chicago Bears

Teven Jenkins is a road grader up front in the running game, a tactician in pass protection, and one of the anchors of the Chicago Bears‘ offensive line. Last season, Jenkins only allowed 2.0 sacks and 12 quarterback pressures. He’s already on the cusp of breaking through as an All-Pro, and if the Bears’ offense makes major strides, this could be his season to crack the list.

C: Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs

Creed Humphrey is the most consistently dominant young center in this league. Full stop. Humphrey is a complete mauler as a run-blocker, producing an elite 91.1 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, and a stonewall in pass protection, where he didn’t allow a single sack last season, with just one surrendered through the first two seasons of his career. Maybe more impressive than the fact that Humphrey allowed just 21, quarterback hits is that he was flagged for only 4 penalties in 1,138 snaps in 2022. Humphrey is an ascending talent and perhaps next in line to be a permanent All-Pro fixture.

EDGE: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

There are few pass-rushers who strike as much fear in opposing offensive tackles as Maxx Crosby does when he’s flying off the edge. It is almost unfair that a player has that much burst and that much speed, flying off the corner. Beyond freakish athleticism, Crosby’s productivity speaks for itself; 15.0 sacks, 81 total pressures, 4 forced fumbles, and 70 tackles in 2022 as the centerpiece of the Raiders‘ defense. Given the exotic blitz packages defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is accustomed to drawing up, don’t be surprised if even those numbers from Crosby take a big jump in 2023.

EDGE: Montez Sweat, Washington Commanders

Montez Swat is borderline unblockable off the edge, where he produced 8.0 sacks and 63 total pressures as the centerpiece of the Commanders’ front-seven in 2022. What makes Sweat special is that he’s one of the more dominant run-stopping edge players in the game, on top of being a game-wrecker when rushing the passer. Sweat is one of the more complete players at his position, and if he continues his upward trajectory, could find himself on All-Pro lists this season.

DL: D.J. Reader, Cincinnati Bengals

Injuries limited D.J. Reader’s production last season, he missed six games due to a knee injury while finishing with 27 tackles and 1.0 sack, but don’t let those numbers fool you into thinking this isn’t one of the top players at his position. Reader is a matchup nightmare, a dominant interior pass-rusher, and as steady as they come against the run. If Reader can stay on the field all season, 2023 could be the year he solidifies his place among the elite of the position.

DL: Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants

Few humans walking the earth can move with the speed and burst that Dexter Lawrence shows on each snap, at a mammoth 6-foot-4 and 342 pounds. Not only does Lawrence take up boatloads of space against the run, but his 9.0 sacks and 63 total pressures are absolute game-wreckers up the middle for opposing quarterbacks. Lawrence was a Second-Team All-Pro selection in 2022, and playing another season in coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s scheme should create even more opportunities for Lawrence to destroy things up the middle. If he does, well, etch his name on the First-Team list this season.

LB: Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears

Edmunds arrives in Chicago coming off the most dominant season of his prolific career. Once again surpassing 100 total tackles, Edmunds produced a team-high 101, while holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 87.1. All that, only to leave Buffalo without a contract extension. Given Edmunds’ productivity, his talent, and the added motivation that comes with being spurned by your former team, expect big things from the centerpiece of the Bears’ revamped defense in 2023.

LB: Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lloyd didn’t waste any time throwing his weight around, as a rookie in the Jaguars’ linebacker corps last season. The Utah alum’s three interceptions led all linebackers, and he was consistently around the football, carding 110 total tackles. If Lloyd builds on his stellar rookie season, don’t be surprised to find him on this list by year’s end.

LB: Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco 49ers

A strong case can be made that each member of the 49ers’ front-seven could wind up an All-Pro, but Greenlaw should benefit more than most from Javon Hargrave’s arrival. Last season Greenlaw had 127 tackles and was just a brick wall against the run. Expect that to continue in 2023.

CB: Charvarius Ward, San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers boast one of the most talented defenses in the league, and the best defensive back on the roster might be Charvarius Ward, who is criminally underrated outside the Bay Area. Opposing quarterbacks managed only an 88.2 passer rating when targeting Ward last season, and receivers had little room to operate, averaging just 11 yards per catch. Given the combination of the 49ers’ ferocious front-seven and Ward’s prowess in man coverage, the stage could be set for the 27-year-old to have a career year in 2023.

CB: Asante Samuel Jr., Los Angeles Chargers

Entering his third season, Samuel Jr. hasn’t just already proven himself to be a legitimate ballhawk, but he continues to get better. Quarterbacks rarely targeted Samuel Jr. last season, and when they did, they managed a meager 97.6 passer rating on those throws. Samuel Jr. already etched his name in the record books, becoming the first player to pull down three interceptions in his playoff debut. If Samuel builds on a stellar finish to 2022, there’s a good chance he finishes 2023 as an All-Pro.

S: Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens

Hamilton is as versatile as they come at safety, and aims to build on a prolific rookie season, that was capped by him leading the Ravens’ defense with 9.0 tackles in a Wild Card loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only does Hamilton thrive in coverage, where he played both deep safety and in the slot while holding opposing receivers to only 9.9 Yards per Reception, but he’s a real weapon up near the line of scrimmage. Hamilton’s 2.0 sacks and 20 run-stops underscore his value at all levels of the Ravens’ defense.

S: Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Winfield Jr. is an ascending talent at the safety position, who could see more opportunities to create turnovers as head coach Todd Bowles dials up the pressure via the blitz this season. Moving to free safety this season could create more opportunities for Winfield to flash in coverage, where he held opposing receivers to just 10.5 Yards per Reception in 2022. If the Buccaneers’ defense bounces back, and Winfield plays a starring role, don’t be surprised when he winds up being an impact player this season.

The Chicago Bears haven’t had to concern themselves with savvy value plays thus far in free agency, but there’s no reason to scorn low-risk bargains amid a rebuild.

That’s exactly the type of play that former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown can offer any franchise willing to take a shot on him following a serious injury he suffered late in the 2022 campaign. Brown tore his Achilles tendon against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13 after starting the entire year up to that point for the playoff-bound Cowboys.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN criticized the Bears on May 30 for failing to use any of their 10 draft picks or $75 million in salary cap space to select or sign a top-end left tackle or edge rusher. He also noted a lack of attention paid to the defensive backfield by general manager Ryan Poles.

“The secondary didn’t see much help, either, as the only significant addition was second-round pick Tyrique Stevenson,” Barnwell wrote.

Stevenson was penciled in as a starter on Chicago’s depth chart as of Wednesday, per ESPN, though the two players the team ultimately decides to start at cornerback are likely to solidify their positions during training camp, which doesn’t begin until the end of July.

The Bears can use some depth and experience in what is otherwise a young secondary, and Brown is a free agent they can pursue on a short-term value contract, as he rehabilitates from his Achilles injury and attempts to re-establish his value as a starting cornerback on a contending NFL roster.

Anthony Brown Has Been Quality NFL Starter Over Past 2 Seasons With Cowboys

GettyWide receiver Nelson Agholor, formerly of the New England Patriots, catches a pass in front of cornerback Anthony Brown, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, during a game in October 2021.

Brown is a good bet to fight his way back to health and on-field prosperity next season. Drafted in the sixth-round (No. 189) by Dallas in 2016, Brown worked to eventually carve out a role on the front end of the depth chart, starting all 16 games he played in 2021 and the first 12 contests of 2022.

Over that span, Brown amassed 113 tackles, including two tackles for loss, 24 pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown. The cornerback surrendered completion percentages of 53.3% and 52.9% in the last two seasons, respectively, as well as collective passer ratings of 78.4 and 89.7 to opposing quarterbacks, per Pro Football Reference.

Brown will play almost the entirety of the 2023 campaign at the age of 29 and will be essentially undertaking a season-long tryout for another lucrative future contract, as he is unlikely to sign a big deal coming off such a serious injury. Brown played out the final campaign of a three-year, $15.5 million contract last year, which he signed with the Cowboys in 2020.

Bears Can Sign Former Cowboys CB Anthony Brown to Deal While Still in His Prime

GettyCornerback Anthony Brown, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, celebrates a defensive touchdown with cornerback Trevon Diggs during a game against the New York Giants in October 2021.

Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report on Wednesday, June 14, listed Brown as the ninth-best unsigned free agent under the age of 30, emphasizing that the cornerback wouldn’t be on the list at all had he remained healthy through the end of last season.

Make no mistake — that injury is the only reason that Brown remains unsigned this late into the offseason. There are a number of corners who have already signed new deals and found new homes who don’t have Brown’s ability or resumé.

Brown allowed just 65 of 122 passes thrown in his direction to be completed in 2021 and posted a passer rating against of 78.4. For the record, that passer rating against is lower than Trevon Diggs‘ was last year. And Darius Slay of the [Philadelphia] Eagles. Brown’s numbers weren’t quite as good in 2022, but he was still a solid NFL starter.

With more than $32.5 million in remaining cap space, the Bears will not jeopardize their chances to add a quality edge rusher to the defense by signing Brown to a one- or two-year deal.

The Chicago Bears are still planning to let veterans Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick battle it out for the starting center job in 2023 when training camp begins in late July, but it sounds as though Patrick could be relegated to the top backup role for the interior of their offensive line for his second season in Chicago.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus spoke a bit about the center competition following June 13’s first veteran minicamp practice and declared an early frontrunner for the starting job, emphasizing that Whitehair is “the starter right now” at the position. He also elaborated on how Patrick — who has starting experience at center and guard — fits into the picture as they prepare for the six-week break before the start of training camp.

“Cody’s there as the starter right now, and then Lucas is working in there because of experience,” Eberflus said. “Really, the big thing with those guys is the accuracy of the snaps, and they’ve done a great job with that. It’s not just in the team periods, it’s also in individuals. So, even when C-Mo [offensive line coach Chris Morgan] is going rapid fire, we want to make sure, even when they are gassed and tired in individual, that they have accurate snaps. Because if they can do it then, they can do it during the game.”

The presumption has been that Whitehair would emerge as the Bears’ starting center ever since general manager Ryan Poles announced after the draft that the 30-year-old veteran would be shifting back to snapping duties after playing guard the last two years. Actually hearing Eberflus call him “the starter” solidifies his standing, though, and creates a situation where the starting job becomes Whitehair’s to lose during camp.

Lucas Patrick Will Compete for All 3 Interior Roles

Whitehair may hold the edge over Patrick in terms of the center competition, but the Bears are by no means down on Patrick’s potential heading into the 2023 season.

After Tuesday’s practice, Eberflus complimented the way that Patrick has “changed his body” throughout the offseason, concentrating on the physical side of things in hopes it can help him avoid the injury troubles that kept him off the field for much of last year. He also said that the plan — for now at least — is to have Patrick push for a starting job at all three of the interior positions on their line, not just the center spot.

“Lucas has done an outstanding job. He’s really changed his body,” Eberflus said. “He’s really been working that physical side of it so he can stay in there and stay healthy, and he’s going to continue to do that. We’re happy where he is in terms of competing inside. And we know how this season goes … we’re going to need everybody. At some point, somebody is going to step in there and be a starter, and we’re fortunate to have Lucas who has started in that position — not to say he’s not going to compete for those starting spots that are inside. He’s going to, and we’ll see where it goes during training camp.”

Patrick certainly has the desired experience to fortify the interior of Chicago’s line. He started 13 games at the center spot for the Green Bay Packers during the 2021 season after second-round pick Josh Myers suffered a major injury and finished the season allowing just one sack and 18 pressures. He also split 15 starts between left and right guard for the Packers in 2020, giving up more sacks (three) but fewer pressures (16).

The question now is: Will Patrick’s veteran experience be enough for him to bump Whitehair, Teven Jenkins or newcomer Nate Davis out of their starting jobs?

Bears Grateful to Have Offensive Line ‘Continuity’

Not knowing where Patrick will play is a good problem for the Bears to have. Unlike last season, when they were counting on him to challenge Sam Mustipher for the starting job at center, the Bears will likely be satisfied having him as their top interior backup option if he is unable to secure a starting role during camp competitions. And part of the reason why is that, in 2023, they are hoping to finally have legitimate continuity.

The Bears return three starters from last year’s offensive line in Braxton Jones, Jenkins and Whitehair — although, the latter two have switched to different positions– and have added two new clear-cut starters at right guard (Davis) and right tackle (first-round rookie Darnell Wright) to round out their lineup. With less fluidity in the lineup, Eberflus and Morgan have noticed that continuity is “really starting to gel” now.

“In fact, I just talked to C-Mo earlier today about it and the continuity of that is really starting to gel, having guys next to each other. Braxton next to the guard [Teven Jenkins], and then also Nate also next to another young [tackle], so we’ve got some youth next to experience there,” Eberflus said. “We like it, and it’s starting to gel. Hopefully, it won’t be the moving chairs we had last year.”

Chicago Bears fans have been eager to stoke the flames of rivalry with the Green Bay Packers now that Aaron Rodgers is no longer under center, but veteran defensive tackle Justin Jones wishes the four-time MVP was still around … so he could see the Monsters of the Midway “beat the hell out of them.”

Following June 13’s first veteran minicamp practice, Jones was asked what he made of the NFC North division during his first season in Chicago and how different he thought things would be now that Rodgers elsewhere playing for the New York Jets.

“I wish he played one more year with Green Bay, honestly,” Jones said Tuesday. “We went up there and played a pretty good game, but they got away from us at the end obviously and they won, but their fans are really shitty. So I wanted to go back up there and I wanted to play them and I wanted to beat them and I wanted him to be there so he could see it. But the fact that he’s gone, it’s cool, it’s better for him not to be here.”

Jones — who was the Bears’ starting three-technique tackle in 2022 — also took the opportunity to elaborate a bit more on what he thinks makes the Packers fanbase “really s*****,” criticizing them for running their mouths before last year’s game at Lambeau Field and adding that “half of them don’t even know football.”

“Just the ways that they’re obnoxious and yelling about things that don’t even matter. We’re not even running a play and you guys are talking about, ‘Boo, oh yeah.’ Like, what are you even talking [about]? The game hasn’t even started yet. Like, what are we talking about here?” Jones said before sighing audibly. “Half of them don’t even know football. It’s so weird to me. But I’m just ready to go there and play. I want to go out there and beat the hell out of them.”

Bears Hope Justin Jones Takes ‘Next Step’ in 2023

Jones started all 17 games during his first season for the Bears in 2022, but the overall production of the defense — particularly in terms of sacks and run defense — failed to live up to relatively low expectations. The Bears finished with the fewest sacks (20) in the NFL last year, while the ineffectiveness of their defensive line, including Jones in the 3-tech role, was the main culprit for their subpar run defense that surrendered the second-most rushing yards per game (157.3) and most rushing touchdowns (31).

On an individual level, Jones seemed to struggle to live up to the two-year, $12 million contract he signed with the Bears. He tallied a career-high three sacks for the second straight season, but he played substantially more reps for the Bears than he did in the 2021 season for the Los Angeles Chargers. According to Pro Football Focus, he also received the worst grades of his career for run defense (43.4) and overall defense (45.8), getting penalized a career-worst four times and missing four tackles on the year.

Still, Bears general manager Ryan Poles indicated in his January season-wrapping press conference that he was impressed with Jones’ consistency throughout the 2022 season and is eager to see him take “the next step” during his second year in the defense.

“I thought did a really good job,” Poles said. “I thought he was a consistent playmaker through the season. With that front, I know there were a lot of questions on production in the pass game with sacks. I think that’s a group that, just like O-line, you’ve got to work together. It’s not just one player. Again, I’m excited to see him take the next step next year. In terms of a steady piece that I thought made plays throughout the season, I thought he did that.”

Bears Loaded Up on Young DT Talent for 2023 Season

GettyBears rookie Zacch Pickens will also be competing for a starting defensive tackle role in 2023.

While the Bears are hopeful that Jones can take the next step for them in 2023, they have a loaded room of young talent — including three new draft picks — ready to push him for his starting job once training camp begins toward the end of July.

The Bears used two of their three Day 2 selections on defensive tackles, adding Florida’s Gervon Dexter Sr. in the second round (No. 53 overall) and South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens in the third round (No. 64). They also took a seventh-round flier on the seventh-rounder Travis Bell — the first player to ever be drafted out of Kennesaw State — and added former Las Vegas Raiders veteran Andrew Billings on a one-year contract to shore up the depth in their defensive tackle room for the 2023 season.

If Jones can pick up where he left off in camp, it could be tough for either Dexter or Pickens to pry the starting job out of his hands for Week 1’s opener against the Packers at Soldier Field. Should the returning veteran slip up, though, don’t be surprised if the Bears take the initiative and push their prized rookies to the forefront.

After all, Poles has proven he is willing to start rookies and play them for high volumes of snaps, just as he did with Braxton Jones, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker and Jack Sanborn during his first season as general manager. And with Jones heading into the final year of his contract, he could need a breakout year just to stick around past 2023.

The Chicago Bears may have to wait until the start of 2023 training camp late next month to get another look at wide receiver Chase Claypool in action.

Claypool, who has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury for the past few weeks of OTAs, was not practicing during Tuesday’s first day of mandatory veteran minicamp and continued to work with the Bears’ athletic training staff on the sideline.

“He’s dealing with a few things, working with the training staff,” Eberflus said on June 13 before elaborating more on the details of Claypool’s issues.

“Just a few minor things that he’s working with. What’s great about this time of year is we have the luxury of him working with the trainers. He’s not in a time crunch and we can get him fully healthy working into the summer because we have 40 days when we break from here to get ready for that report at training camp [in late July]”

While Eberflus describing Claypool’s issues as “minor” bodes well for him being ready to practice again in time for camp later this summer, it is a little concerning that he has been unable to participate in the majority of on-field workouts over the past month.

The Bears paid a high price — the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 draft — to acquire Claypool at the trade deadline last season, but an injury and being thrust into a new offense limited what he was able to offer the team. The hope has been that, with a full offseason to dive into the playbook, Claypool can take a leap with the Bears in 2023 and become a reliable member of their starting lineup. Losing out on time to build more chemistry with quarterback Justin Fields could complicate the process, though.

Injuries Open Door for Rookie Tyler Scott to Shine

The Bears are down two of their starting receivers at minicamp with Claypool sidelined with his new injury and Darnell Mooney still working back from last year’s season-ending ankle injury. With the two of them out of the practice rotation, though, it could mean more opportunities for fourth-round rookie Tyler Scott to earn his keep.

Scott has turned a few heads in the open-to-media OTA practices over the past month. Former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt talked up Scott’s ability to make defenders miss during his appearance on 670 The Score’s ‘Parkins & Spiegel’ on June 1, imploring the Bears to find a way “to get this guy the football” as they craft their rotation for 2023. He also continued the trend in Tuesday’s first minicamp session, making a diving deep-ball grab down the sideline from backup quarterback P.J. Walker.

Scott has the potential to be a valuable slot weapon for the Bears in his rookie season, even once Mooney and Claypool rejoin the rotation. He has impressive speed — a 4.44-second clocking in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine — that allows him to win on top against his coverage as well as take handoffs and speed around the edge. He could also offer Chicago another competition in the return game against Velus Jones Jr. and veteran Dante Pettis.

Justin Fields & D.J. Moore Continue to Generate Buzz

GettyNew wide receiver D.J. Moore has continued to turn heads in his first offseason with the Bears.

Another positive note for the Bears’ receiving corps coming out of the first minicamp practice is that the connection between Fields and his new No. 1 receiver, D.J. Moore, is only continuing to generate buzz among players and attending media alike.

According to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago, the Fields-Moore connection was on full display during the previous three weeks of OTAs. He made note of several of their big-time plays, including a touchdown pass from Fields to Moore in the second week where the young quarterback “threaded the ball between two defenders” for the score.

Zack Pearson of 247 Sports also pointed out their connection as one of the biggest positives for the offense in offseason workouts, tweeting that he feels like “that’s only going to get better and better as we go on.”

Even the Bears defenders having to play against Fields and Moore are noticing a difference in the offense with that connection present.

“That 1 and 2 connection is going to be crazy this year,” Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones said after Tuesday’s practice.”Justin Fields and D.J. Moore are going to be crazy this year. I’m telling you right now. I like what I see.”

One of the most unsettled positions on the Chicago Bears’ offense heading into the 2023 season is the running back position, but the team appears to be bracing for a potentially big season out of newcomer D’Onta Foreman based on the incentives they included in the one-year contract he signed earlier this year.

Foreman signed a one-year deal with the Bears in March that ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported at the time to be worth a total of $3 million. In actuality, though, Foreman is only set to make $2 million in 2023 from his base deal, while he can earn an additional $1 million in incentives if he can hit some rather lofty benchmarks this season

According to an incentives breakdown that NFL insider Ari Meirov put together for the 33rd Team, Foreman has six total incentives to chase during the 2023 season with five of them requiring him to rush for at least 1,000 yards. He stands to make an additional $250,000 for crossing the 1,000-yard threshold and can add two more payments of $250,000 if he can eclipse both the 1,200- and 1,500-yard markers as a rusher.

If Foreman rushes for 1,000 or more yards in 2023 and the Bears make the playoffs, he earns another $75,000. That number doubles to $150,000 total if he can rush for 1,200 or more yards while helping the Bears to a playoff berth. The final incentive offers him $100,000 if he rushes for six or more touchdowns, which feels more attainable than the other incentives but still hoists some serious expectations on his shoulders for 2023.

Perhaps Foreman is simply taking a chance on himself to capitalize if the opportunities present themselves in 2023, but both he and the Bears have to know that those specific benchmarks — as difficult to attain as they already are — would be near-impossible for him to meet if he was not given a legitimate chance to win the starting job. So, don’t be surprised if Foreman makes a strong case to be Chicago’s lead back for Week 1’s opener.

D’Onta Foreman on Cusp of Breakout After 2022?

Foreman turning into a dynamic leading rusher for the Bears in 2023 certainly isn’t out of the question given how he has improved over the past few seasons.

After three years of early-career obscurity, Foreman emerged as a productive backup for Tennessee in 2021, stepping up while Derrick Henry was injured and rushing 133 times for 566 yards and three touchdowns on the season. He then signed with Carolina for 2022 to serve as injury insurance for star Christian McCaffrey and ended up getting a prime opportunity to show off his featured-back abilities when McCaffrey was traded, putting up five 100-yard games and rushing for 914 yards and five scores on the year.

While Foreman has mostly been billed as a power back (6-foot-1, 236 pounds) since arriving in Chicago, a deeper dive into his one-year stint with the Panthers suggests he has far more in him than short-yardage and goal-line touches.

According to Pro Football Focus, Foreman was one of the top 10 backs in the league in 2022 among those with at least 125 carries in terms of breakaway percentage (33.2%) on his runs. He also displayed good field vision and high-speed physicality when moving with the football, having 21 runs of 10 or more yards (four more than David Montogomery) and averaging a ninth-best 3.26 yards after contact per attempt.

The Bears may still prefer to take a by-committee approach to their backfield for the 2023 season, but no back on their roster has more evidence to support a breakout case than Foreman, including Herbert — their top returning back who shined in a rotational role with Montgomery during his second year in the league in 2022.

Foreman Wants to ‘Be the Guy’ for Bears Backfield

Foreman won’t have a cakewalk to the Bears’ top running back job. Herbert might be a different build, but he put in quality work with the Bears behind Montgomery in 2022, finishing with 731 yards and four touchdowns on just 129 total carries. Chicago also invested a fourth-round pick into Texas standout Roschon Johnson, who may need more time than the others learning the offense but could be a force when ready.

In truth, it could be beneficial for the Bears to figure out how to use all three backs in a rotation that could change week to week based on the opposing defense’s weaknesses. Foreman, however, is setting out to prove he can be “the guy” for the Bears backfield.

“I can’t really speak for the coaches and the plan that they have,” Foreman said on March 17 during his introductory media availability. “I came here to try to be the guy. I think if I didn’t come here with that mentality that I would be doing myself a disservice [and] I think I would be doing the team a disservice.

“I can help us win. I didn’t come here to take a back seat to anybody. I’m a team guy, I’m first a team guy, be able to do anything I can to help — and that’s any role that they put me in — but I think coming here with the mindset of me wanting to be the guy, wanting to be a person who can help this team and make a lot of players for this team, I know that’s my mentality.”

The Chicago Bears have assembled a backfield by committee, though one of the NFL’s most dynamic rushers is mired in a financial dispute with his current team.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who was named among the Bears’ top offseason targets in 2023, announced that he will not attend the Giants’ mandatory minicamp this week due to an inability to reach an agreement on a long-term contract. Barkley made the statement on Sunday, June 11, at his youth football camp in Jersey City, New Jersey. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the running back’s comments via Twitter.

“As I have previously stated, I’m not looking to set any contract records. I’m not demanding to be the highest-paid player at my position. I understand the market,” Barkley said. “My goal is just to be compensated respectfully based on my contributions to the team on the field and in the locker room. I’ve been in talks with the Giants throughout the offseason. If, at some point, there’s a deal that is fair to both sides of the table, I’ll be ready to sign.”

Saquon Barkley’s Financial Future at Risk on Franchise Tag Deal With Giants

GettyRunning back Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants adjusts his helmet before a game against the Seattle Seahawks in October 2022.

New York applied the franchise tag to Barkley ahead of his sixth professional season. The move keeps him under contract for one year at a price just shy of $10.1 million.

It is unsurprising that Barkley is displeased with the arrangement. Most NFL players loathe the franchise tag because, while the one-year contract is fully-guaranteed, it puts their long-term financial prospects at risk. The league is already known for rarely guaranteeing the entirety of multiyear deals, and a down season or serious injury can greatly impact a player’s earning potential, which renders playing on a one-year franchise tag a serious financial risk.

Barkley is coming off of a Pro Bowl campaign in 2022, in which he tallied 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 295 carries, per Pro Football Reference. The running back also caught 57 passes for 338 yards. It was Barkley’s second Pro Bowl campaign of his career, the first coming when he was a rookie in 2018.

However, Barkley suffered a torn ACL in 2020 that cost him 14 games. His rehabilitation to a top-end performer was gradual, as he played in just 13 of 17 contests in 2021 and produced only 593 rushing yards that season.

Barkley will play the upcoming year at the age of 26, which means a healthy and productive campaign is likely to land him a lucrative multiyear contract with either the Giants or another organization. But a second serious injury, should it occur, will compromise his leverage at the negotiating table — a scenario that is more problematic for a running back than almost any other position considering how devalued the job has become in the modern NFL.

Bears Have Draft Capital Necessary to Trade for Saquon Barkley

GettyQuarterback Daniel Jones (right) of the New York Giants hands off to running back Saquon Barkley (left) during a game against the Indianapolis Colts in January 2023.

The Bears currently have more than $32.5 million in salary cap space and eight picks in the 2024 NFL Draft at their disposal, including two first-round selections.

The Carolina Panthers traded running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers last season for the price of four draft picks, which included a second-rounder, third-rounder and fourth-rounder in 2023 as well as a fifth-round pick in 2024.

Barkley carries similar value to McCaffrey, which means his trade price will be steep should the Giants decide to put him on the market. That scenario is far from a guarantee, even if the two sides can’t agree to a long-term contract ahead of the season, though it is a possibility.

Chicago would not have to mortgage its entire 2024 draft to obtain Barkley, should the option to do so present itself. However, next year, the Bears’ second- and third-round picks combine to create a realistic jumping-off point for future negotiations.

That is a high price to pay for a running back, though the Bears might value the position more than most teams based on how they played offense in 2022. The team led the NFL in rushing last season with 3,014 total yards (177.3 yards per game).

Chicago will undoubtedly try to run quarterback Justin Fields less and encourage him to throw more this year, though his dual-threat ability renders a high-end back like Barkley more valuable to the Bears’ offense than it might be to several others across the NFL.

At the beginning of a rebuild, the Chicago Bears have latitude to take a few chances and currently have the opportunity to do so on a pass rusher with high upside.

Chase Young of the Washington Commanders is arguably the highest risk/highest reward bet at the position coming into the 2023 campaign. Injury concerns and effort questions hovering over Young stand in stark juxtaposition to undeniable top-end talent. Meanwhile, the Bears have $32.6 million in salary cap space and a wheelbarrow spilling over with draft picks to add a couple of game-changers to the roster.

Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report on Wednesday, June 7, suggested that Chicago leverage one of its second-round selections to bring Young into the fold.

Let’s keep in mind that the Bears traded three-time All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a 2022 second-rounder and a 2023 sixth-round pick two years ago. Washington shouldn’t expect more than what Chicago received for Mack, who came off an injury-riddled 2021 campaign but had an impressive eight-year resumé prior to the Bears-Chargers deal.

With several high-end defensive ends available on the free agent market, the Commanders may be able to replace Young and his $11 million contract with a less costly veteran on a one-year deal. … Moreover, the Bears finished the 2022 term with the fewest sacks (20) and the second-lowest pressure rate (15.9 percent). They need pass-rushing help up front.

Commanders’ Actions Indicate Chase Young is Available to Bears Via Trade

GettyDefensive end Chase Young of the Washington Commanders puts on his helmet during an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns in January 2023.

The Commanders have positioned themselves as wary about trading the former No. 2 overall pick. But leaks to reporters are just words, and actions always reverberate with a far more powerful echo.

During an offseason in which the team spent big on defensive tackle Daron Payne, the Commanders passed on picking up Young’s nearly $17.5 million fifth-year option. That decision will allow the defensive end to hit free agency next March after playing out the final season of his $34.56 million rookie contract.

While it’s impossible to be certain, the signs are clearly pointing to Washington’s readiness to move on from Young. However, letting him go a year from now for nothing would be catastrophic considering his draft position and his potential value to other franchises as a 24-year-old player who lines up at a premium position.

Young’s trade value is currently at an all-time low, after a 2021 ACL tear lingered and robbed him of 14 regular season games last year. The path forward for the Commanders is two-fold: first, they need to try and establish their interest in retaining Young through the upcoming season and beyond. Second, they need to get Young back on the field where he can re-establish his standing as a quality contributor with a unique skill set ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

Part one appears already in effect, as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported on June 6 that Washington is “unlikely” to trade Young but is “open to listening” to offers. Part two of the plan can’t take shape until the season begins in September, at which point Young will have roughly half of a season to show that he’s still got the goods as he plays for a lucrative second contract somewhere in the NFL.

Chase Young Has Been Dominant NFL Player When Healthy

GettyDefensive end Chase Young of the Washington Commanders celebrates a play during an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints in October 2021.

Young got off to a slow start in his second season and has played in just 12 games over the past two campaigns. However, he blew the lid off the league as a Pro Bowler and the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020.

The defensive end finished that season with 44 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss, 24 quarterback pressures, 12 quarterback hits, 7.5 sacks, four pass breakups, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown, per Pro Football Reference.

Young’s cost to the Bears in a trade would be more than just a second-round draft selection, as Chicago would also need to sign him long-term to render the move worth making. But as the worst team in the league at pressuring opposing quarterbacks in 2022, Young would be worth the pick, a big contract and more to Chicago if he can return to, or surpass, his rookie-season form.

The big question is whether Young can actually do that. The good news for the Bears is that they have the luxury of taking a wait-and-see approach, at least through the first handful of games this season.

The Chicago Bears need a premier pass rusher and one of the best in the game is rumored to be potentially available via trade.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Wednesday, June 7, that several teams have reached out to the Minnesota Vikings to inquire about the availability of outside linebacker Danielle Hunter. The three-time Pro Bowler is entering the final season of a five-year, $72 million contract that pays him just $5.5 million in 2023, leaving him looking for a new deal.

There will be no shortage of franchises who can use a resurgent player at a premium position, though an argument can be made that the Bears both need Hunter more than any other team and are the most equipped to craft a deal lucrative enough to entice Minnesota to the negotiating table.

“Going into the 2023 season, the Bears have worked hard to bulk up the trenches on both sides of the football. Three of their first four picks were on the offensive and defensive lines, but the edge position is really thin,” Tyler Forness of USA Today’s Vikings Wire wrote Wednesday. “The Bears made a transformative move in 2018 when they traded for Khalil Mack. Bringing in a player like Hunter could transform their defense from day one, and [he] is young enough to keep making an impact when the rebuild is completed.”

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Danielle Hunter’s Shade Toward Vikings Adds Credence to Trade Rumors

GettyOutside linebacker Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before a game against the Seattle Seahawks in September 2021.

Hunter has spent the better part of the previous two months playing hardball with the Vikings in a variety of ways.

First, he deleted all team imagery from his Instagram account in mid-April. Hunter’s next step was to skip voluntary OTAs in May. Despite his tactics, little has been reported about progress on a new deal for Hunter in Minnesota. However, rampant speculation has been that the Vikings will eventually cave and give the pass rusher the contract he wants.

It’s hard to argue that Hunter doesn’t deserve a new, multiyear contract after the season he had in 2022. He led the Vikings with 10.5 sacks and added 34 quarterback pressures, 22 quarterback hits, 12 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a forced fumble, per Pro Football Reference.

Hunter also earned a Pro-Bowl nod for the third time in five years. The only two campaigns in which he failed to win that honor came in 2020 when the linebacker missed the entirety of the season with neck injury, and in 2021 when he suffered a torn pectoral after amassing six sacks through seven games.

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Danielle Hunter Offers Bears New Shot at Edge Rusher After Missing on Premium Names

GettyDefensive end Frank Clark, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a deal to join the Denver Broncos in 2023.

Chicago entered the offseason leading the NFL in cap space. After a blockbuster deal that saw the team trade the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers, the Bears also had 10 draft choices at their disposal. Yet still, the edge of the defense remains relatively bare.

Yannick Ngakoue is a free agent name that has been bandied about often in connection to Chicago, but he came out recently and expressed a desire to play for a contender this year, and the Bears could be a hard sell in that regard.

Former Kansas City Chiefs defender and playoff sack specialist Frank Clark was another free agent often linked to Chicago, but he came off the board on Thursday after deciding to sign a one-year deal with the Denver Broncos, per Nick Shook of NFL.com.

Bears brass has said repeatedly that the team plans to add an edge rusher to the mix beyond DeMarcus Walker, but the options continue to wane as the summer presses on. The team not only has the salary cap space to pay Hunter, $32.6 million as of Thursday, but the draft capital to make it worth the Vikings’ while.

However, Minnesota released running back Dalvin Cook on Thursday, clearing $9 million in space of its own and pushing its current open cap well north of $18 million. The Vikings’ new balance sheet will allow them to re-sign Hunter and leave plenty of money left over to make another move or two.

Reading between the lines, that probably means Chicago will need to offer a significant draft package to Minnesota in exchange for Hunter, which could complicate the matter.

Khalil Herbert might be viewed as the frontrunner to enter the 2023 season as the Chicago Bears’ new lead running back, but the coaching staff is making it clear that “no one has earned a spot” in this season’s rotation just yet.

The Bears’ running back room has gone through some changes since finishing the 2022 season as the league’s top rushing offense (177.3 yards per game). Gone is former lead back David Montgomery, having signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency, and in his place stand a trio of newcomers — D’Onta Foreman, Travis Homer and fourth-round rookie Roschon Johnson — alongside Herbert and 2022 sixth-rounder Trestan Ebner.

While Herbert’s seniority in the system earned him first-team reps in organized team activities (OTAs) this spring, “all bets are off” once training camp hits with Foreman and Johnson each eager to stake their claims to prominent roles in the backfield.

“No one has earned a seat in that room yet, and they’re all going to earn their seats from what we do now until August whatever, whenever that third preseason game is” Bears running backs coach David Walker said in May, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “That’s been communicated to them. Like, the very first rep [on] the very first day, Khalil [Herbert] will be the first guy. But after that, all bets are off.”

Khalil Herbert’s System Knowledge Could Give Edge

GettyKhalil Herbert averaged 5.7 yards per carry for the Bears in 2022.

The Bears are right to encourage competition among their new pool of running backs, but Herbert may still emerge as their top option if he can pick up where he left off in 2022. During his second season, the 24-year-old averaged 5.7 yards per carry as the second option in the rotation and nearly outpaced Montgomery in rushing yards (731 vs. 801) and rushing touchdowns (four vs. five) despite having 72 fewer carries.

Herbert’s 5.7 yards per carry ranked first in the NFL among running backs who had at least 100 carries in 2022. According to Next Gen Stats, he also led the league in yards over expected (1.44) per attempt with the next closest being Nick Chubb (1.29).

The challenge for Herbert will be improving his capabilities as a pass blocker. He was noticeably worse at the job than Montgomery for the Bears in 2022, struggling to pick up blitzes and sometimes proving to be a liability for quarterback Justin Fields. Making significant strides in that arena, though, has been an offseason priority for Herbert.

“You’ve got to be an every-down back, so that’s a big part of it,” Herbert said on May 31. “That’s something I’ve worked on throughout this offseason. I don’t know compared to the other guys, but that’s something that I’ve been working on to fix.”

The pass-catching aspect of Herbert’s game could also use work. While he caught nine of his 12 targets, he averaged just 6.3 yards per reception — a full three yards worse than Montgomery. A heavier volume of targets could see him become more productive, but the proven experience on the field is not quite there yet with him.

How Will Roschon Johnson Fit Into 2023 Rotation?

GettyBears rookie Roschon Johnson is also expected to factor into the 2023 backfield rotation.

The Bears will have a healthy veteran competition for carries playing out in camp between Herbert and Foreman, who rushed for 914 yards and five touchdowns for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 and took off after Christian McCaffrey was traded. But there will also be a lot of eyes watching Johnson, the Bears’ new hotshot rookie.

According to what Ryan Poles told Cynthia Frelund during his draft breakdown for NFL Network, the Bears ran 53 simulations of the draft and in none of them did Johnson fall into their clutches at the spot where they drafted him (in the fourth round at No. 115 overall). Poles even said he had “no idea” how Johnson was still available, which only added to the team’s excitement when they were able to secure him for their backfield.

Johnson flew a bit under the radar in the 2023 class. In college, he had primarily served as the No. 2 back in the rotation behind Longhorns sensation Bijan Robinson — who went to the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft — but he steadily improved in each of his four seasons at the position, finishing the 2022 season with a career-high 6.0 yards per carry (554 total yards) on 93 total rushing attempts.

At 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, Johnson is taller than most running backs, but his elite athleticism and refined instincts have allowed him to pick his opportunities wisely and attack the line of scrimmage with vicious force. He is also a twofold asset in the passing game, proving capable of making clean catches out of the backfield while also knowing how to use his big frame to protect his quarterback as a pass-blocker.

The Bears might not rush him into the spotlight with Herbert and Foreman more experienced at the NFL level, but a strong training camp could go a long way toward helping him carve out an early role in the 2023 backfield.

The Chicago Bears could end up with one of the NFL’s better running back trios in 2023, with Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman and rookie Roschon Johnson. Some oddsmakers, though, still like their chances of being able to add a game-changer to their backfield before the start of the season.

On June 5, Adam Thompson of Bookies.com “used his resources of NFL contacts developed over 20 years covering the league” to determine the hypothetical odds on which team is most likely to have Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon in their employ for the upcoming season.

While the Cincinnati Bengals, Mixon’s current team, are still the overwhelming favorites (-150) to keep their 26-year-old running back, the Bears have the best next-team odds (+650) among the rest of the field, with a 13.3% implied probability of adding Mixon to their room before Week 1’s season opener against the Green Bay Packers.

“For multiple reasons, the Chicago Bears are part of nearly every player odds piece out there,” Thompson wrote. “They not only have more cap space than any other team, [but] they also have more needs than just about any other team, hence their “earning” of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Mixon would be RB1 on a Chicago offense lacking weapons.”

Joe Mixon Expected to Remain With Bengals for 2023

GettyThe Bengals could save about $10 million against the cap if they cut Joe Mixon in 2023.

Mixon is one of those running backs who, like Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings, should perk some ears if he ever reached a point of immediate uncertainty with his current team.

The 2017 second-round pick has rushed for more than 1,100 yards in three of his six pro seasons, with his career-best outing coming in 2021, when he racked up 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns on 292 carries and earned his first Pro Bowl selection. He has also steadily elevated his game as a pass catcher out of the backfield, posting career-highs in receptions (60), receiving yards (441) and targets (75) during the Bengals’ 2022 run. No doubt, he would be a treasured lead back in several backfields around the league.

Nevertheless, speculation about Mixon’s future has persisted this offseason. He is scheduled to have the third-largest cap hit ($12.76 million) among all running backs, behind only Derrick Henry ($16.37 million) and Nick Chubb ($14.85 million). The Bengals could also create about $10 million in cap savings in 2023 if they decide to release him now that the June 1 deadline has passed.

Fortunately for Mixon, the Bengals seem to have no intention of letting him go. Even after using a fifth-round pick on Illinois star Chase Brown, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told media after the final day of the 2023 NFL draft that Mixon’s “future is here with the team.” Mixon also recently dismissed the “noise” about his future in Cincy.

“You hear a lot of noise but when you don’t pay attention and you don’t hear it, none of that affects you,” Mixon said in an exclusive interview with All Bengals on June 7. “What matters most is [Bengals team president] Mike Brown. He always comes up to me at practice and he’s always happy to see me and that is the best feeling, it doesn’t get better than that.”

Don’t Expect Bears to Sign Another Running Back

GettyBears rookie running back Roschon Johnson will contend for the starting job in 2023.

Purely for the sake of a hypothetical, let’s imagine the Bengals become disillusioned with Mixon in the next few months and release him before the start of the season. Would the Bears actually make a meaningful play to add him to their roster?

Nobody except for second-year Bears general manager Ryan Poles knows for certain, but the answer — based on his approach thus far — is likely a flat “no.”

There was a point in time when the Bears making a major splash at the running back position seemed feasible, prior to the start of the new league year. Montgomery was due to become an unrestricted free agent and Herbert was the last man standing in terms of rushers with meaningful experience. With a league-leading amount of cap space, the Bears could have aggressively pursued any option they wanted, including Saquon Barkley or Josh Jacobs if either had avoided the franchise tag.

Instead, Poles made a statement in the way he went about improving the room. He tried to keep Montgomery — although, how hard he tried is debatable — and pivoted to Foreman (914 rushing yards and five scores in 2022) as a power-back complement for Herbert when negotiations with Montgomery fell through. He also signed Travis Homer, a depth back with quality special teams experience, and used a fourth-round pick on Johnson, who shared a backfield with Bijan Robinson at Texas.

However the rotation shakes out, the Bears have a high-quality committee of backs on their roster who should be able to help them respectably follow up their NFL-leading rushing offense from the 2022 season. Even if there are backs with stronger individual resumes than any of Chicago’s rushers, it would create an unnecessarily crowded room if the Bears were to sign another starting candidate, such as Cook or Mixon.

The Chicago Bears are going to be finishing up organized team activities (OTAs) without Darnell Mooney in the fold, but the expectation — for now, at least — is the fourth-year wide receiver will be ready for the start of 2023 training camp.

Following practice on Wednesday, June 7, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus told media that Mooney is “on track” to return to the field for the start of training camp in late July, “barring any setbacks” in his recovery from last year’s season-ending ankle injury.

“Darnell is working his tail off and he is right on track,” Eberflus said Wednesday. “We anticipate him going as soon as possible. He’s going to have a great summer. I know he’s really amped up for that summer to get ready for training camp, so we’ll see where it is. And barring any setbacks, he’ll be ready [for training camp].”

Mooney delivered his first 1,000-yard season for the Bears in 2021 and had high expectations coming into 2022 with Allen Robinson gone and the pathway to being Chicago’s No. 1 receiver clear for him. After putting up 40 receptions for 493 yards and two touchdowns in the first 11 games, though, the 25-year-old receiver went down in Week 12 with an ankle injury that cut his season short and left the Bears to finish the year without its most impressive pass-catcher.

Mooney’s return will be valuable for quarterback Justin Fields in the sense that he will finally be able to start taking reps with his new-and-improved starting receiving corps. Fields has gotten to throw to new No. 1 receiver D.J. Moore as well as Chase Claypool and rookie Tyler Scott through OTAs, but Mooney will complete the picture and help the Bears, as a whole, get a sense of how potent their passing game can be in 2023.

Darnell Mooney Fighting for New Contract in 2023

GettyDarnell Mooney is entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Bears in 2023.

Mooney is heading into a crucial fourth season with the Bears, looking to earn a new contract extension from the team as he prepares to play out the end of his rookie deal. The 5-foot-11, 172-pound receiver has put some impressive performances on the tape and is probably worth considering for an extension even before setting foot back on the field in 2023, but the Bears also have Claypool — whom they gave up a second-rounder to get at the trade deadline last year — competing for a new deal alongside him.

In the end, the Bears may only be interested in extending one of them with Moore under contract through the 2025 season and both Scott and Velus Jones Jr. locked in on their respective rookie deals for at least the next three seasons.

Based on career production, Mooney likely holds an edge over Claypool. The latter had two impressive seasons with the Steelers to begin his career, but his first half-season in Chicago ranged somewhere between forgettable and disastrous. That said, Claypool — who is 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds — is a more physical, big-framed target whereas Mooney is a smaller receiver who has a similar build to the rookie Scott (who could be viewed as an ideal replacement for him if negotiations don’t pan out for Mooney).

According to Spotrac’s projections, Mooney is expected to have a calculated market value of about $14.9 million per season on his second NFL contract; although, Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger predicts his next deal could be closer to $17 million per year (with his full projection being a three-year contract worth $52 million).

Eddie Jackson Back at Practice from Lisfranc Injury

GettyBears free safety Eddie Jackson returned to practice for the final week of OTAs.

In other injury news, the Bears also had starting free safety Eddie Jackson back on the field for Wednesday’s practice. The 29-year-old was having a Pro Bowl-caliber season for the Bears in 2022 before sustaining a Lisfranc injury in his foot one week after Mooney got hurt, landing him on injured reserve for the remainder of the year.

After a successful offseason of rehab work, though, Eberflus said Jackson rejoined the team earlier in the week for individual drills and was folded back into team reps for Wednesday’s practice, an encouraging sign for his full-time return to the field.

“Eddie has worked his tail off to get back to where he is. He’s in really good shape from working with the rehab staff,” Eberflus said. “I want to commend those guys, the training staff, for getting him back and commend Eddie also for the hard work he’s put in to get to this point. We started him off with individual [work] the day before and he’s been working into some team reps now, so he’s been doing a good job with that.”

The Chicago Bears are expecting big things from starting quarterback Justin Fields during his third season in the NFL in 2023, and he has already started showing his coaches that his knowledge and understanding of Luke Getsy’s offense are on a “different level” heading into his second year of the system.

On Wednesday, June 7, Getsy spoke with reporters following the Bears’ final open-to-media OTA practice and lauded Fields for the focus and hard-working approach he has taken to improving as Chicago’s starting quarterback since the end of the 2022 season. He also noted that the types of conversations the Bears are having with Fields about the offense and his potential for growth have reached new heights since last year ended.

“Justin is someone that is super focused, works his tail off in every aspect of it — the physical part of it, the on-field part of it, the training part of it. And then in the meeting room, he is focused,” The Bears’ second-year offensive coordinator said Wednesday. “The types of conversations we’re having now in that room are really a different level than they were last year as far as where he can go with his growth and everything.”

Fields will finally have the opportunity to operate in the same offensive system for consecutive seasons in 2023, having been forced to learn a new playbook and scheme in each of his first two seasons in the league. The expectation is that will help him take a meaningful step forward in his development, as will the numerous upgrades the Bears have made in his supporting cast — including their acquisition of wideout D.J. Moore.

While the Bears will have next week’s mandatory minicamp and training camp later this summer to better assess the physical improvements Fields has made in the offseason, it is encouraging that Getsy is already noticing mental improvements in his quarterback that should set him up to take a significant step forward as an NFL passer in 2023.

Bears Want to Avoid Making Justin Fields ‘Robotic’

GettyBears quarterback Justin Fields finished with 1,143 rushing yards during the 2022 season.

Fields burst onto the scene in 2022 with his dynamic rushing ability, finishing the year with the second-most quarterback rushing yards (1,143) in NFL history behind Lamar Jackson’s MVP season in 2019. Since then, though, the 2021 first-round pick has been adamant about wanting to make significant strides as a passer, whether it is improving his short-to-mid-range accuracy or getting the ball out faster when making throws.

Still, Getsy recognizes he has a difficult line to tow with developing Fields. He wants to ensure he helps him make improvements in his decision-making and rhythm in the pocket so that they can become a more effective passing offense, but he also does not want to force Fields to be “robotic” and play strictly within the confines of the system.

“There’s plenty of times on film where he shouldn’t [run with the ball], and even though it worked out for us, in the long run, there’s a better decision, there’s a better way,” Getsy explained. “And then there’s times where I can sit there and coach and say, ‘You should do this,’ but then his instincts tell him to do something and we have to trust that, too, so I will by no means make that guy robotic. I don’t believe in doing that for any player, but there’s a way to refine it all and improve our decision-making and trusting our timing and rhythm, and we’ll take it from there.”

Will Fields Be 1st Bears QB to Eclipse 4,000 Yards?

The Bears have had infamously bad luck with quarterbacks over their franchise’s long history, never producing a single 4,000-yard passer despite having a few who fell less than 200 yards short — Erik Kramer (3,838) in 1995 and Jay Culter (3,812) in 2014. Could Fields finally break the trend and become the first 4K passer in team history?

Potentially down the line, but don’t count on it happening right away in 2023.

No doubt, Fields is going to have significantly more firepower at his disposal heading into his third season with the Bears. Since the start of the 2022 season, the Bears have added Moore, Chase Claypool and fourth-round rookie Tyler Scott to his receiving room and, for safe measure, signed another quality pass-catching tight end (Robert Tonyan Jr.) in free agency to pair with starter Cole Kmet. He also has two new pass protectors with veteran guard Nate Davis and first-round right tackle Darnell Wright.

The offense won’t just click into place because the talent is better, though. Even if Fields takes a noticeable step forward in 2023, he may not cross the 4,000-yard threshold with how much the Bears like to run the ball. They lost David Montgomery from last year’s NFL-leading rushing offense, but they added D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson alongside Khalil Herbert to potentially make the unit even better for 2023.

As a safe estimate, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated predicted Fields to finish 2023 somewhere in the range of Jalen Hurt’s first two seasons in Philadelphia.

“I’ll go with 63% completions, 3,200 yards, 24 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 800 yards rushing — and I do that to put Fields in between campaigns Jalen Hurts posted in 2021 and ’22,” Breer wrote. “I believe Fields was a better passer coming out than Hurts, but he doesn’t have the circumstances that Hurt got over the last couple years.”

The New York Giants still can’t iron out a deal with star running back Saquon Barkley.

But maybe the Chicago Bears can.

If Big Blue and Barkley can’t agree on a long-term deal by the July 17 deadline, a blockbuster Barkley trade to the Windy City would be “worth consideration,” according to Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine. 

“The Giants and the running back still have yet to iron out a long-term agreement,” Ballentine wrote. “Right now, the 26-year-old is set to play on the tag this season and the clock is ticking. A trade for Barkley would give the Bears one of the best groups of talent around their quarterback in the league.”

Chicago was once the betting favorite to land No. 26 in free agency, per OddsChecker.com. But Barkley never made it that far.

Earlier this year, New York slapped the franchise tag on their 1,312-yard rusher to prevent him from moving to another team. Long-term contract negotiations between the team and player have been a rollercoaster ever since.

There’s no indication New York wants off the Barkley ride yet. General manager Joe Schoen would need Barkley to sign his franchise tag tender just to open up the very possibility of a trade.

But as Ballentine said, the clock is ticking. League rules stipulate that franchise-tagged players like Barkley have until July 17 to strike long-term deals with their teams. That leaves a little over a month for negotiations that have stalled and sputtered thus far — or a trade that would give both sides a fresh start.

What Would a Bears-Giants Barkley Trade Look Like?

Schoen might not be able to pull off a last-second deal with Barkley like he did with quarterback Daniel Jones. But would he really consider a trade?

Trade negotiations would start with a four-pick package similar to what the 49ers gave up for Christian McCaffrey, per Ballentine. They would also need to involve teams that value the run game and could offer Barkley the contract he’s looking for in New York.

In other words: The Chicago Bears.

According to OverTheCap, no team has more current cap space than Bears’ $32 million. They’re also armed with a bevy of future draft picks after trading down from the No. 1 overall spot in the 2023 NFL draft in April. And Ballentine believes Barkley would represent a big upgrade for Chicago, which posted the second-most rushing attempts in football last year.

“The Bears let (David) Montgomery walk,” Ballentine wrote. “They replaced him with Roschon Johnson in the draft and D’Onta Foreman in free agency. Those two, combined with Khalil Herbert, give the team a solid group of backs. However, none of the three is the same kind of difference-maker as a healthy Barkley.”

A healthy Barkley would command a healthy trade return, though.

Carolina recouped four draft picks by trading McCaffrey: Second, third, and fourth rounders in 2023, plus a fifth-round pick in 2024. New York would hypothetically look for a similar package back if it ever dealt Barkley to Chicago.

Here’s what the Bears could hypothetically offer New York to land Barkley in a trade:

• 2024 third-round pick
• 2024 fourth-round pick (via Eagles from Jalen Carter trade)
• 2025 second-round pick (via Panthers from Bryce Young trade)
• 2025 fifth-round pick

That haul seems expensive, but Chicago still keeps both its 2024 first-round picks. In doing so, it can continue surrounding their quarterback, Justin Fields, with the kind of talent Ballentine thinks they need.

“The idea of putting a dynamic running back beside Fields in the backfield could open up the Bears offense,” Ballentine wrote. “A trade for Barkley would give the Bears one of the best groups of talent around their quarterback in the league.”

What Would the Post-Saquon Barkley Giants Look Like?

No one Giant could be called upon to fill Barkley’s giant cleats in the unlikely event of a trade. 

Barkley is a locker room leader and 2022 team captain. He was responsible for over half of New York’s rushing yardage and nearly one-third of its total yardage during last season’s playoff run. And he’s one of the most recognizable and marketable players in professional sports, let alone football.

More leadership could come from established Giants like Jones, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. It could also be mined in new additions like ex-Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller or fostered over time in draft picks like cornerback Deonte Banks or center John Michael Schmitz.

Barkley’s on-field production would be just as tough to replace, too.

Based on last year’s pecking order, veteran Matt Breida would be next in line to take Barkley’s snaps. Gary Brightwell and Jashaun Corbin would also be called upon for more meaningful snaps. But no player would likely be called on more than fifth-round rookie runner Eric Gray.

The Tennessee and Oklahoma product rushed for 1,366 yards in his final collegiate season and is already considered a hidden gem of his draft class. And while Schoen said he didn’t select him as Barkley’s heir apparent, Gray could still be a potential steal. 

“In a draft with less RB depth than 2023 had, Gray would have been no worse than a third-round pick — even with the questions about how much work his frame can handle in the NFL,” wrote Nick Baumgartner of The Athletic. “If the Giants wind up moving on from Saquon Barkley, Gray’s addition would look that much better.”

The window is now open for the Chicago Bears to pull off a trade that would add an “X-factor” pass rusher to their defense for the 2023 season.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Washington Commanders are now “open to listening” to trade offers for high-profile defensive end Chase Young as they prepare to close out their offseason workouts with this week’s mandatory minicamp.

While speculation about Young’s availability has persisted since the team declined to pick up his fifth-year option for 2024, Breer’s report is the first confirmation that the team is open to potentially moving on from the former No. 2 overall pick this offseason. Should they decide trading Young is the best route forward, Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network believes the Bears could be his top landing spot in a trade.

“The Bears have two fourth-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft,” Robinson wrote on June 6. “Could they send one of those picks to Washington on a conditional basis, with the choice upgrading to a third-rounder if Young plays at least 50% of Chicago’s snaps next season? That type of trade could allow the Bears to take a chance on a pedigreed player while retaining draft capital flexibility heading into next offseason.”

Chase Young Could Be ‘X-Factor’ Addition for Bears

GettyPro Football Focus believes Chase Young can be an ‘X-factor’ in 2023.

Nobody is fooling themselves into believing Young’s career has gone according to plan. Young was an absolute force for the Commanders as a rookie in 2020, racking up 7.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 40 pressures, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries (one taken for a touchdown) on his way to Defensive Rookie of the Years honors. Since then, however, he has been severely limited due to a torn ACL and patellar tendon in his right knee and has managed to play just 12 games over the past two seasons.

Young has a chance to change the narrative about his career, though, coming into the 2023 season. He is now about 19 months removed from his injuries and subsequent reconstructive surgeries and, according to Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, “looked good” in his return to OTAs earlier this week. If he can complete his comeback and return to his former level of play, Pro Football Focus believes he could be the “X-factor” in 2023 for the Commanders — or another team, if traded before the season.

“Washington curiously declined his fifth-year option, so Young is entering a contract year,” Dalton Wasserman and Jim Wyman of PFF wrote. “He has elite talent, and the Commanders’ success will be carried by their defense. A double-digit sack performance could make them an elite unit — and could line up Young for a big payday.”

The declined fifth-year option isn’t the only motivation for the Commanders to listen to trade offers for Young. They have invested heavily in their defensive line over the past few offseasons, signing lucrative extensions with defensive tackles Jonathan Allen (four years, $72 million) and Daron Payne (four years, $90 million), and also have fellow pass rusher Montez Sweat entering a contract year with Young. The Commanders may only want to pay one of them, especially with an unclear future at quarterback.

Meanwhile, the Bears picked up an additional fourth-round pick in 2024 after trading down with Philadelphia from No. 9 to No. 10 overall in the 2023 draft and have the assets to make a compelling offer. Even if they are forced to add conditions to the trade that would bump up the value given to a third-rounder, it could still be viewed as a steal if they get a bounce-back season from Young and sign him to a long-term extension.

Ex-Bears Scout Argues Against Chase Young Trade

GettyFormer Bears scout Greg Gabriel doesn’t believe Chase Young fits Ryan Poles’ plan.

The concept of Young-to-Chicago sounds excellent on paper. The Bears would have a shot at adding an elite-caliber player to arguably the weakest position on their roster and could take a massive step forward in their rebuild if it all pans out. One former Bears scout — Greg Gabriel — isn’t sold on the idea of trading for Young, though.

Gabriel recently offered “a scout’s take” for Windy City Gridiron on why he considers the odds of the Bears trading for Young to be “slim.” He emphasized the philosophy that second-year general manager Ryan Poles has embraced in building his roster, which included not overpaying for veterans such as Mike McGlincey and Dre’Mont Jones in 2023 free agency despite having an interest in signing both.

With nobody certain of how Young will bounce back from his knee injuries, Gabriel wonders why “any team in their right mind” would trade for “a big question mark.”

“There are several Bears fans that want the club to go after Washington defensive end Chase Young,” Gabriel wrote for WCG on June 6. “I believe that it is not going to happen. Not today, not tomorrow, or anytime in the near future.”

Velus Jones Jr. is going to have his work cut out for him trying to win back his job as the Chicago Bears’ primary return specialist in 2023, but his special teams coordinator has no regrets about benching him during his rookie year.

Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower spoke with reporters following May 31’s OTA practice and was asked about Jones’ progress heading into Year 2 after his rookie season in 2021 featured multiple fumbles and his eventual midseason benching.

Unsurprisingly, Hightower had mostly good things to say about the former third-round pick as a coach who traditionally avoids criticizing his players for poor performances. He did, however, add a little “oomph” to his praise when asked directly if he had any regrets about not giving Jones another chance on punt returns to close out the year.

“No, I don’t,” Hightower said, via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune. “Everything that happens to you, you learn from it. I see a kid that is even more eager now because he knows, ‘I want to be out there.’ He comes back with a totally different mindset. He looks different.”

Velus Jones Struggled as Rookie But Improved Late

A major reason why Chicago invested in Jones during the 2022 draft was his upside as a dynamic punt and kick returner. Over his 59 games at Tennessee, he fielded more than 120 kickoff returns and took two the house for touchdowns, pushing his yard-per-return average to a career-high mark (27.3) during his final season in 2021. He also adopted punt returner duties in 2021, averaging 15.1 yards on 18 total punts.

The high expectations for Jones’ return game crashed into a brick wall before the midway point in his rookie season, though, as his mistakes started adding up quickly.

After missing the first three games with a hamstring injury, Jones made his NFL returner debut in Week 4 against the New York Giants and muffed a critical punt with 2:14 left in the game that allowed the Giants to effectively seal their victory over the Bears. Two weeks later, Jones muffed another punt against Washington that set up the Commanders for a go-ahead touchdown from Chicago’s own 6-yard line.

Jones did not return another punt for the rest of the season and was eventually made a healthy scratch for two games (Weeks 9 and 10), a consequence of his mistakes.

What often gets forgotten about Jones’ rookie season, however, is how he responded to the adversity late in the season, while the Bears were barreling toward a 3-14 finish. The first kickoff he fielded back in the lineup he took 55 yards to Atlanta’s 35-yard line, setting up an eventual Justin Fields touchdown pass. He returned another 15 kickoffs down the stretch and averaged 30 yards per return, taking four for 40 or more yards.

Jones also started cracking the code on how to bring his speed and big-play potential to the Bears offense. Over the final seven games of 2022, he caught four passes for 83 yards and added six carries for 62 yards as well as his first career rushing touchdown, looking like an ideal fleet-footed weapon for Chicago on reversals and jet sweeps. It might have felt like an insignificant amount of improvement in the context of the Bears’ losing season, but it was also an encouraging sign for him heading into his first full NFL offseason.

Bears Want Returner Job to ‘Shake Out on the Field’

GettyVelus Jones Jr. #12 of the Chicago Bears runs for yards in the second half of a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on November 27, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

The Bears are naturally going to be hoping for signs of marked improvement from Jones heading into his second season, but by no means are they declaring him the frontrunner for the return specialist role for 2023 with other competitors in the field.

The Bears re-signed veteran wide receiver Dante Pettis — who took over punt return duties permanently in Week 7 after Jones lost the privilege — back in April and are also expecting him to vie for returner responsibilities in 2023. While he never looked as explosive as Jones and finished with a modest 9.1 yards per punt return, Hightower said on May 31 that he has been encouraged by Pettis’ growth between seasons in the role.

Additionally, the Bears added more competition for Jones on kick returns with running back Travis Homer, who signed a two-year deal with Chicago at the start of free agency. He averaged 24.7 yards on 18 career kickoff returns over his four seasons with Seattle and even took one to the house during the 2021 season, something the Bears haven’t done since Cordarrelle Patterson did it against Minnesota during the 2020 season.

“It’s gonna shake out on the field, but we believe in all of our players,” Hightower said of the returner competition. “We think they all have the ability to do their job, the ones we have back there, and we’re continuing to develop them. They are both looking better than they were looking last year, both Dante and Velus. And we’ve got some more young kids, so we’re excited about that group. They’ve been out there catching a lot of balls, catching a lot of live balls. Coach [Omar] Young and Coach [Tyke] Tolbert, all those guys have been doing a phenomenal job working with them back there.

“It’s arrows up on both of those two.”