When the Bears agreed to terms with Olamide Zaccheaus, they had dropped their cap space to the bottom third of the league and seemed tapped out.
However, partly because Chicago gave a contract extension with a year more on it to Jonah Jackson, they'll still have enough to plug in a low-cost free agent or two in order to cover gaps they might have heading into the draft, or even as they come out of it.
We're not talking players who would rate among the best available free agents like running back J.K. Dobbins, receiver Stefon Diggs, edge rusher Za'Darius Smith or linebacker Eric Kendricks, unless something drastically changes on the cost for players like this.
From the second week of free agency until just before training camp last year, the Bears signed DeAndre Carter and traded for Chris Williams. In 2023 they signed Nathan Peterman, Rasheem Green, Marcedes Lewis and left enough to sign Yannick Ngakoue while taking on the contract of Chase Claypool later in a trade, for better or worse.
Of those late signings, only Ngakoue's took up a huge chunk and they had done something similar the previous year when the rebuild began when they signed tackle Riley Reiff.
The Bears are stocked with guard for this season, but not necessarily the future. The can worry about the future in the draft. The remainder of free agency is fill-in types for this season, players who might be role players.
WHO ALL'S OUT THERE FOR THE BEARS STILL, A LIST
Late free agency needs
Swing tackle
It's true Kiran Amegadjie didn't have a chance last year to prove himself. No one walks in out of college without an offseason of work, with no training camp or preseason and then just picks it up and plays effectively. It's impossible. It showed with his poor play, but there's reason to think he'll be better now. Still, there's no way to be certain he can fill this vital role of swing tackle unless he has proven himself. Josh Myles is on the roster but is probably no real answer as he hasn't even played in an NFL game in three seasons. They were thought to have an interest in Lions tackle Dan Skipper but he signed back on in Detroit. It looks like a role for a draft pick but they might look around and find someone extra like they had in Jake Curhan.
Too Expensive: Cam Robinson, Tyron Smith, Jedrick Wills.
Hmmm: Andrus Peat. Played for only $2.2 million as a backup for Raiders last year. Formerly on Dennis Allen's team.
Others: D.J. Humphries, Kendall Lamm, Trent Brown, George Fant, Olisameka Udoh, Jack Driscoll, Landon Young, Chris Hubbard, Storm Norton.
Fourth receiver
Receiver is always an easy place to throw money down the drain later in free agency for no reason. It's frequently filled with older players who don't have it anymore, players who've been injured and lost something or simply overrated/overpaid people. The Bears' need at the third spot was filled by Zaccheaus. They still have Tyler Scott. Their need for a kick returner could also be met here already as they also signed former Lions practice squad receiver and return man Maurice Alexander. Tim Patrick was perceived as a possible Bears add-on from Johnson's offense but the Lions retained him.
Too expensive: Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, Tyler Lockett,
Forget it: Diontae Johnson
Hmmm: Josh Reynolds is older but would bring the Ben Johnson experience to the receiver corps. He was with Jacksonville last year. This is a receiver who always gave the Bears headaches, although much of that might have been the result of overplaying Amon-Ran St. Brown or the scheme. JuJu Smith-Schuster played for only $1.2 million last year. Duvernay isn't really much help as a receiver, although his speed could scare some people. He played for $2.3 million last year and his real value is kick returner. The Bears, in case anyone noticed, don't have one. Zaccheaus can return punts but isn't much of a kick returner.
Others: Mecole Hardman, Michael Gallup, Robert Woods, Odell Beckham, D.J. Chark, Kadarius Toney, Tyler Boyd.
Third Tight End
They signed Stephen Carlson but he wasn't even the third tight end last year for them. He also seems to always have injury issues. So getting someone else on board would help, unless the plan is drafting one. A thing to remember about third tight ends is they need to justify their 53-man position with a particular skill set and/or being able to play a lot of special teams.
Too expensive: Tyler Conklin, Mo Alie-Cox.
Hmmm: Hayden Hurst wouldn't fit the special teams requirement but can catch passes and only made $1.2 million last year. C.J. Uzomah was paid little and sat around mostly with the Eagles last year but has always produced when teams called on him. He is 6-6 and 262 and not really mobile enough for the role they would have. Eric Saubert played in San Francisco as an extra tight end and caught 11 passes last year. Maybe he learned something from George Kittle since being with the Bears in 2019. He also plays on special teams. Remember, the player they're looking for would probably be battling a rookie for third tight end anyway.
Others: Jordan Akins, Irv Smith Jr., MyCole Pruitt, Kenny Yeboah, Ian Thomas.
Running Back
Most likely their next running back comes from the draft but if they added one a player who is younger as an extra, getting someone who plays special teams is more likely. It's not really a role they need because both D'Andrew Swift and Roschon Johnson are good in the passing game and Johnson is a good special teams player, although not necessarily a return man. They still have rehabbing back Ian Wheeler too.
Too expensive: J.K. Dobbins, Nick Chubb,
Forget it: Jamaal Williams (Former Lion who they didn't retain and then didn't fit in during the Dennis Allen era in New Orleans).
Hmmm: The Vikings got good use out of Cam Akers as an all-purpose type at only league minimum last year. Trayveon Williams is a former backup for the Bengals who played an awful lot of special teams at a 55% rate of reps or more the last three years and also had some kick return experience.
Others: Jeff Wilson, Ameer Abdullah.
Edge Rusher
They've replaced DeMarcus Walker, but not Darrell Taylor and Jake Martin. One extra veteran edge rush presence wouldn't hurt even if they do draft someone. Austin Booker's development might make this an unnecessary acquisition but one can never be sure. It's best filled after a look at the players in minicamp/OTAs.
Too expensive: Matt Judon, Za'Darius Smith, Azeez Ojulari, Charles Omenihu, Shaq Barrett, Emmanuel Ogbah.
Yuck...no: Yannick Ngakoue, Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Hmmm: Jihad Ward. A 6-6, 285-pound end fits their prototype on one side well. The Vikings had him as an extra for only $1.8 million last year, and that's chump change for this position. Carl Lawson. Played for the minimum and at 260 could fit on the other side from Dayo Odeyingbo the rotation as an extra. He had five sacks last year in Dallas on a minimum contract.
Others: Save your money. Rest are too much or not worthwhile.
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