A quarterback-starved franchise for much of their existence, the Bears secured a rare opportunity to finally check that box off their to-do list. Last year’s trade with the Panthers brought about a move that may well not have occurred in a normal year. After building the 2023 offseason around Justin Fields, GM Ryan Poles cut bait on the run-oriented QB to prepare for a Caleb Williams-centered future.
The Bears have now secured a rare opportunity to reset their quarterback contract clock, moving on from a fourth-year passer to a rookie with a much higher ceiling. Williams now leads a Bears team that spent extensive time equipping its new passer with weaponry, setting up one of the most intriguing periods in this storied franchise’s history.
Extensions and restructures:
- Agreed to four-year, $110MM extension ($43.65MM guaranteed) with WR D.J. Moore
- Completed four-year, $76MM extension ($43.8MM guaranteed) with CB Jaylon Johnson
Poles acquired two new receiver regulars for Williams to target, but he also rewarded the one obtained in 2023. Moore stretched his run of 1,000-yard seasons to four — with four different primary starting QBs — and continued to do so with passers regarded well off the top tier at the position. Fields’ issues with accuracy aside, Moore smashed his career-high receiving mark from Carolina with a 1,364-yard Chicago debut. Moore also established a new career-best TD number (eight) and ranked in the top 15 in yards per route run (2.31). A Bears franchise that does not have many standout receiver seasons in its history enjoyed one during a mostly forgettable slate.
Moore, 27, said he did not shoot for a Justin Jefferson-level payday; the seventh-year player still did very well. Moore’s total guarantee number ($82.6MM) trails only Jefferson and A.J. Brown — as if we needed even more components impacting Brandon Aiyuk‘s endless 49ers negotiations — and the Bears structured this contract like a team that has a rookie QB deal around which to build. Moore’s cap number jumps from $7.2MM to $24.9MM from 2024-25, and this through-2029 contract — two seasons remained on his 2022 Panthers extension — does not include any void years.
The Bears guaranteed Moore’s 2024 and ’25 base salaries but have some flexibility beyond that. Moore’s age and production history should make this $27.5MM-per-year deal a win for the Bears, who secured four more seasons of control and would only be on the hook for prorated signing bonus money if they moved on post-2025. Seeing as Moore is a rare No. 1 wide receiver to stop through Chicago, any departure rumors can be tabled into the late 2020s. The Maryland alum’s deal will overlap with Williams and Rome Odunze‘s rookie contracts for at least three years.
More than four months earlier, the Bears reached a quick resolution with Johnson. They did so despite allowing Johnson’s camp to negotiate with other teams at the 2023 trade deadline. The Bears were not satisfied with any trade offers, wanting a first- or second-round pick for a player who had not shown All-Pro-level form from 2020-22. Interest from multiple teams ensued, but Poles soon affirmed he wanted Johnson in the fold long term.
The Bears and Chiefs snapped a notable drought of cornerback franchise tags; the Rams’ second Trumaine Johnson tag (2017) represented the most recent such move coming into this offseason. While the Chiefs tagged L’Jarius Sneed to fetch draft capital in a trade — as the NFL’s latest dynasty operates around one-contract CBs — the Bears had more room to pay their tagged cover man.
Poles has made his stamp on this defense, having now given high-end contracts to defenders on all three levels. The third-year GM paid Tremaine Edmunds and Montez Sweat last year and re-upped Johnson days before free agency. Johnson had expressed some frustration Sweat was paid first despite his midseason arrival and mentioned an aim at becoming the NFL’s highest-paid corner. The Bears did not give in there, but the former second-round pick — after a well-timed breakout — did well in terms of guarantees.
After subsequent deals for Sneed, Tyson Campbell and AJ Terrell, Johnson’s AAV sits 10th among corners. It is a bit unusual for a franchise-tagged player to settle for such placement, but Johnson secured $43.8MM fully guaranteed — fourth among corners — and $54MM guaranteed in total (seventh). This is also a clean contract, with no void years involved and the former second-round pick’s 2026 guarantee not vesting until that year. Johnson’s 2024 and ’25 base salaries are guaranteed; the fifth-year CB is due $44MM in that span. That is more than two tags would have covered, explaining how the Bears finalized this deal so quickly.
Pro Football Focus graded Johnson first overall among corners, and Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics backed that up. After allowing passer ratings (as the closest defender) north of 94.0 from 2020-22, Johnson checked in with a 50.9 number last season — a four-INT slate that produced a second-team All-Pro honor. The Bears are confident this was not merely a contract-year outlier; they will count on Johnson to anchor their mid-2020s secondaries.
Trades:
- Acquired conditional 2025 sixth-round pick from Steelers in exchange for QB Justin Fields
- Sent Chargers No. 110 for WR Keenan Allen
- Landed DE Darrell Taylor from Seahawks for 2025 sixth-round pick
- Obtained OL Ryan Bates from Bills for No. 144
- Acquired DT Chris Williams, 2025 seventh-rounder from Browns for 2025 sixth
Although feigned debate surfaced about this decision, those in the league never seemed to be convinced the Bears strongly considered passing on Williams to keep Fields. The Bears wanted a Day 2 pick for their three-year starter, a player around whom they themed the 2023 trade (which moved them out of C.J. Stroud/Bryce Young territory), and the Falcons were floated as a possibility. The Fields market turned out to be ice cold. If now-starter Russell Wilson can hold off the younger passer and play 50% of the Steelers’ 2024 snaps, the Bears will only collect a 2025 sixth. Fields reaching the 51% play-time barrier would give Chicago Pittsburgh’s 2025 fourth.
Poles, of course, did not draft Fields. That would have made it borderline insane had the third-year GM passed on a second straight No. 1 overall pick. The Panthers throwing Young into a terrible spot became the Bears’ golden ticket, with Chicago benefiting from the lowest point in Carolina’s history.
Poles labeled Fields’ murky status exiting the season a unique situation, and the Bears were then tied to wanting a historic haul for the top pick. No real noise about Fields having a shot to stick in the Windy City emerged henceforth, and while the Bears may or may not have passed on other offers to do right by the former No. 11 pick, it is hard to believe they rejected a significantly superior proposal. The four other teams to discuss Fields with the Bears viewed him as a backup.
That said, Fields (23rd in 2023 QBR) would probably still be the Bears’ quarterback had Young elevated the Panthers out of the NFL basement. Though, the Bears landing the Nos. 2 or 3 picks via the Panthers may still have resulted in them dealing Fields and starting over with Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. Fortunately for Poles, his decision proved easier. The Steelers passed on Fields’ fifth-year option, and the electric runner/sack-prone passer will not be extended in 2024. Fields looks to have a shot at sticking with the Steelers via a 2025 re-signing, but he will need to overtake Wilson and show growth.
One of this era’s premier route-running technicians, Allen joins the Bears ahead of his age-32 season. The Bears landed the 11-year Charger despite interest from the Texans and Jets emerging; those teams circled back to other vets, while Allen began a contract year in Chicago.
The new Bolts regime offered Allen an extension, but the receiver’s camp labeled the proposal a pay cut. Allen remains tied to the $20MM-per-year deal he signed in 2020, and while he is open to an extension, the Bears now have Moore and Odunze signed long term. Even with Williams on a rookie deal, the team paying Allen even midlevel money beyond 2024 would be somewhat difficult. After all, the team has also paid a running back (D’Andre Swift) and tight end (Cole Kmet).
Allen is a six-time Pro Bowler who has excelled in the slot and on the perimeter. A strong Bears season could vault the former third-rounder from the Hall of Very Good tier to a player with a viable Canton case. As it stands, Williams will have one of the game’s best separators — ESPN’s Open Score metric placed Allen first in 2023 — to target in Year 1. Allen showed scant decline signs last season, averaging a career-best 95.6 yards per game and surpassing 1,200 for just the second time in a season. He got there in 13 games. The Bears will hope to extract one more prime-level year from the aging talent.
Bates remains on the Bears-built contract from 2022, when the Bills matched an offer sheet early in Poles’ GM tenure. The Bills used Bates as a 2022 starter but demoted him to a full-time backup last season. Bates, 27, battled Coleman Shelton for the center job but has missed time due to an undisclosed injury. Bates looks like the Bears’ sixth man up front when he recovers.
Taylor flashed in Seattle, posting 9.5 sacks and forcing four fumbles in 2022. He also totaled at least 5.5 sacks in each of his three healthy seasons. The former second-rounder, due for unrestricted free agency in 2025, has a chance to boost his value as a Montez Sweat sidekick.
Free agency additions:
- D’Andre Swift, RB. Three years, $24MM ($14MM guaranteed)
- Kevin Byard, S. Two years, $15MM ($7.39MM guaranteed)
- Gerald Everett, TE. Two years, $12MM ($6.06MM guaranteed)
- Coleman Shelton, C. One year, $3MM ($1.75MM guaranteed)
- Jonathan Owens, S. Two years, $3.8MM ($1MM guaranteed)
- Jacob Martin, DE. One year, $1.29MM ($668K guaranteed)
- DeAndre Carter, WR. One year, $1.2MM ($450K guaranteed)
- Matt Pryor, OL. One year, $1.18MM ($50K guaranteed)
- Scott Daly, LS. Practice squad
The Bears joined the Eagles, Texans and others in entering the Saquon Barkley sweepstakes, and while Giants GM Joe Schoen indicated on Hard Knocks that Chicago had driven up the two-time Pro Bowler’s price, it looked to be a Philly negotiation that defined the running back market’s early hours. The Eagles were looking into re-signing Swift but saw his price point move past their comfort zone, and they pivoted to Barkley, whom Howie Roseman‘s team clearly viewed on a higher tier. Swift became the 2024 UFA market’s first commit, as the Bears continued to load up a roster around another rookie-scale QB contract.
Familiar with Swift from his Lions days, the Bears gave him the second-most money among UFA backs this year. Swift’s $14MM guarantee at signing outflanked Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Devin Singletary and Aaron Jones. The ex-Detroit second-rounder’s age (25) and lighter workload by comparison to the other available backs undoubtedly boosted his stock. Swift will begin his Bears tenure with 788 career touches. Injuries were an issue for the Georgia alum in Detroit, which fetched barely a fourth-rounder in a 2023 trade.
Swift stayed healthy in Philly, booking a Pro Bowl nod after 1,049-yard rushing season. The former No. 35 overall pick also has two seasons (2020, ’22) in which he ranked in the top 10 among RBs in yards per catch, with the Lions using him as more of a dual threat compared to the Eagles. The Bears figure to take advantage of Swift’s multipurpose skillset, with the upper-middle-class RB contract pairing with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson‘s rookie deals.
Byard joins Swift in coming from Philly, though the Eagles had cut the former All-Pro. Considering what happened on the safety market this offseason, Byard did well. As fellow cap casualties Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye and Eddie Jackson all took one-year deals worth less than $4MM, Byard saw his guarantee approach where Justin Simmons‘ market went. The four-time All-Pro scored $7.5MM guaranteed from the Falcons. Byard, 31, has two first-team All-Pro distinctions on his resume (2017, 2021) and will provide a cheaper solution to Jackson’s Ryan Pace-authorized extension. Despite Byard’s involvement in the Eagles’ late-season collapse, Pro Football Focus rated him 22nd among safeties last year.
