HEADLINES

Chicago Bears News & Rumors

Bears To Feature Training Camp Center Competition; RG Spot Uncertain?

June 20th, 2024 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears have two veteran options for their center spot, adding both players — Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton — this offseason. These additions have not produced a starter-swingman hierarchy just yet, with a training camp battle on tap.

Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan said (via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns) Bates and Shelton will match up for the job once the pads come on. The Bears have eyed Bates for a bit, having signed him to an RFA offer sheet — one the Bills ended up matching — in 2022. But the veteran guard worked as a Buffalo backup in 2023. Shelton, conversely, worked as a starter throughout last season with the Rams.

Before Chicago’s offseason program began, a rumor pointed to Bates having a better shot at claiming the job despite his 2023 second-string role. The Bears designed his current four-year, $17MM contract, and although the team changed offensive coordinators since that point, Morgan remains in place as Chicago’s O-line coach. Shelton signed a one-year, $3MM Bears deal.

Bates, 27, has made 19 career starts. Almost all of those came in 2022, when the Bills matched the offer sheet. Pro Football Focus ranked Bates 41st among guards in 2022, and he lost a position battle to second-round pick O’Cyrus Torrence. The latter’s assimilation provided the Bills some stability, and they deemed Bates expendable (for a fifth-round pick) this offseason. Although the Bills rostered Mitch Morse throughout Bates’ Buffalo stay, Bates saw 135 snaps at center in 2022 and played there sparingly in 2021 and ’23.

Shelton, 29 next month, started all 18 Rams games last season and made 13 starts for an injury-battered 2022 Los Angeles team. While the Rams were interested in re-signing Shelton, they doled out two high-priced guard deals (to Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson) and are moving Steve Avila to center. A former UDFA, Shelton only played center in 2023; PFF slotted him 17th at the position. Shelton played mostly center for the Rams in 2022, but he also logged 258 snaps at guard. Shelton and Bates’ guard work could be notable as well.

The Bears gave four-year Titans starter Nate Davis a three-year, $30MM pact and installed him at right guard, moving ascending blocker Teven Jenkins to left guard last year. PFF slotted Davis 58th among guards in his Bears debut, and Jahns expects the team to have the former Tennessee starter battle for a starting job as well. Davis’ $8.75MM 2024 base salary is guaranteed; his 2025 compensation is not.

On Titans teams that regularly battled extensive injury trouble, Davis did miss 12 regular-season games from 2019-22. He started 54 over the course of his rookie contract, however, and impressed, leading to the Bears authorizing $17.5MM guaranteed at signing. An additional $1.75MM locked in for Davis in March. But the former third-round pick missed six games last season.

Third-round pick Kiram Amegadjie played guard at points at Yale, though he his final full season (2022) came at left tackle. His final college season ended early due to quad surgery. An Ivy League-to-NFL transition will naturally be difficult, especially coming off injury, but Amegadjie could also give the Bears an option at some point.

The door may well be open for both Bates and Shelton to start in 2024, with Amegadjie a wild card as a developmental blocker. Though, Davis certainly will have a chance to keep his job.

Bears Committed To Tyson Bagent As Backup Quarterback

June 18th, 2024 at 3:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tyson Bagent made the rare climb from the Division II level to seeing rookie-year starts as a quarterback. Although the Bears have changed offensive play-callers since Bagent’s cameo in relief of Justin Fields, they remain committed to the former UDFA.

Chicago certainly changed up its QB room this offseason by making the unsurprising move to draft Caleb Williams first overall. The team added Brett Rypien, who is now entering his sixth NFL season. The Rypien move is not expected to affect Bagent’s status, with The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain noting there does not appear to be a competition for the Bears’ QB2 post (subscription required). As the only Bears QB returning from 2023, Bagent should not expect a change to his role.

Rypien could settle in as Chicago’s emergency third QB. Another tweak to the NFL’s rule involving emergency passers will allow teams to stash their emergency option on the practice squad and elevate that player continually. Teams will not need to pass their QB3s through waivers. Waivers would not apply to Rypien, who is a vested veteran, but the Bears would take a risk if they kept Rypien and exposed Bagent to waivers come August. But based on how the Bears structured their reps during their offseason program, Fishbain points to a clear Williams-Bagent-Rypien hierarchy — with Rypien on the practice squad as the emergency QB — being in place.

Bagent beat out both P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman to be Fields’ top backup last year. His early work, as could be expected, featured some stumbles. While Bagent averaged only six yards per attempt and closed his four-game starter offering with three touchdown passes and six interceptions, the Bears did win two games with the Shepherd alum at the controls. Bagent also completed 65.7% of his passes, though he has been tasked with developing in new OC Shane Waldron‘s system.

Chicago added Rypien on a one-year, $1.1MM deal that includes no guaranteed money. The former Broncos backup spent the 2023 season with three teams. The Rams waived him after a rough start in Green Bay, and he made his way to the Seahawks’ practice squad — under then-Seattle OC Waldron — before the QB-needy Jets plucked him for their 53-man roster to close the season.

The Bears are currently carrying four QBs on their 90-man offseason roster. Rookie UDFA Austin Reed represents the least experienced option; he appears to be vying for a P-squad gig. The 16-man taxi squad era (since 2020) has given teams more flexibility, but even with the expanded P-squads and the recently reimplemented emergency-QB rule, carrying four passers has not been standard practice. Reed and Rypien may well be competing for one spot.

Reed spent the past two seasons as Western Kentucky’s starter, taking over for Bailey Zappe in the Hilltoppers’ pass-happy system. Reed’s numbers did not match Zappe’s record-setting 2021 slate — though, he did throw 71 TD passes from 2022-23 — but he did enough to convince the Bears to add him post-draft. It would still be a stretch for the Bears to use two young UDFAs as Williams’ backups; Rypien’s experience would stand to benefit him given the current Chicago QB room’s makeup.

Bagent can be retained on a rookie deal, through the ERFA and RFA channels, through 2026. The Bears could form a steady QB1-QB2 arrangement for a few years, should the second-year player keep impressing as the backup arm. Training camp represents Bagent’s next window to do so, but barring a significant step back, it appears the backup gig is his to lose.

Ten Unsigned 2024 Draft Picks Remain

June 17th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL collectively is ahead of where it was last year with regards to draft signings. Teams have navigated the guarantee issue second-round contracts presented in recent years. Unlike 2023, when 30 players were unsigned in late June and nearly half the second round was without contracts entering July, we are down to 10 unsigned rookies from the 2024 class. Here is the lot still without NFL contracts:

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

The clearest difference between this year and last comes from the second round. On June 17, 2023, half the second-rounders were unsigned. The 2011 CBA introducing the slot system has removed most of the drama from rookie-deal negotiations, but second-rounders continue to make guarantee gains. This contractual component has complicated matters for teams in the past, but that has not been the case — for the most part — this year.

A number of 2021 second-round picks remain attached to their rookie deals. Those terms illustrate the improvements Round 2 draftees have made on that front since. The Jaguars did guarantee 2021 No. 33 pick Tyson Campbell‘s first three seasons; his fourth brought $50K guaranteed. This year, the Bills needed to guarantee nearly Keon Coleman‘s entire rookie contract. Coleman has three years locked in and $1.74MM of his $2.1MM 2027 base salary is guaranteed at signing. This year’s No. 59 overall pick (Texans tackle Blake Fisher) secured more in Year 4 guarantees than Campbell’s deal contains.

A sizable gap does exist between Coleman’s final-year guarantees and those of Falcons DT Ruke Orhorhoro (No. 35 overall). The Clemson product has $966K of his $2.1MM 2024 base guaranteed. This gulf has likely caused the holdup for the Chargers and McConkey, a player who — after the exits of longtime starters Keenan Allen and Mike Williams — stands to be a central figure in the Bolts’ first Jim Harbaugh-era offense. With the top players in Round 2 on the cusp of seeing fully guaranteed deals, McConkey can set another notable precedent while gaining some additional security for himself.

First-round contracts have only been fully guaranteed en masse since 2022, when Vikings safety Lewis Cine — chosen 32nd overall — secured those terms. Though, matters like offset language still have been known to slow negotiations. Extended holdouts into training camp no longer occur among rookies, with players risking the loss of an accrued season toward free agency — a product of the 2020 CBA — by doing so. Corley and Benson were this year’s top third-round picks. The 49ers gave No. 64 overall pick Renardo Green two fully guaranteed years. That has likely caused a holdup for the Jets and Cardinals, considering the progress made via contracts agreed to by earlier draftees.

Bears To Sign WR DeAndre Carter

June 13th, 2024 at 9:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

DeAndre Carter spent some time with the Bears during the 2020 season. A new coaching staff and front office will invite the veteran wide receiver/return man back for a second go-round.

After spending the 2023 season in Las Vegas, Carter is coming back to Chicago, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. Carter has spent time with 10 NFL teams and has now completed two reunion agreements, having signed with the Raiders seven years after a short Oakland stop.

The Ryan Pace-Matt Nagy regime initially brought in Carter in 2020, claiming the 5-foot-8 wideout off waivers from the Texans and keeping him through season’s end. Carter, 31, played in four Chicago games that season but then trekked to Washington for the 2021 campaign. Carter visited the Bears early in the Ryan Poles-Matt Eberflus regime’s run but played the 2022 season with the Chargers. He has not played for the same team in consecutive seasons since spending parts of the 2019 and ’20 slates in Houston.

Formerly a 2015 Ravens UDFA, Carter has a 538-yard receiving season on his resume — a 2022 showing in a year that featured Keenan Allen and Mike Williams injuries — but has been a special teams fixture during the 2020s. A handful of teams have made the return game a priority following the NFL greenlighting a trial run of the XFL kickoff; the Bears are following suit.

Carter operated as the primary return man in Washington, L.A. and Vegas over the past three seasons. Also seeing return-game work for the Texans and Bears in 2020, Carter notched a kick-return touchdown with Washington in 2021. Being the Raiders’ preferred option to return both kickoffs and punts in 2023, Carter averaged 23.8 yards per kick return and 9.7 per punt return. Carter ranked 12th in the latter category last season.

It will be kick returns that generate more attention this season, and Carter follows the likes of Cordarrelle Patterson, Laviska Shenault and ex-Bear Tarik Cohen among returners signed following the rule change. The Bears used Velus Jones Jr. as their primary kick returner last year; he averaged 27.2 yards per return. Trent Taylor worked as Chicago’s primary punt returner; Taylor has since returned to the 49ers.

Bears WR Keenan Allen Making Change In Representation

June 12th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

New Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is going to be playing for a team not named the “Chargers” for the first time in his eleven-year NFL career. Allen was shipped to Chicago back in March in exchange for a fourth-round pick that Los Angeles used to trade up and select Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the second round. Because Allen was a trade asset, the Bears are now faced with contract concerns in their new weapon’s future.

Allen arrives in Chicago with only one year remaining on his previous four-year, $80.1MM deal. Because of that, Allen is either heading for free agency for the first time in his career or finding a way to extend his contract with the Bears. Either way, Allen is preparing for the future, hiring new agents in anticipation of the contract situations ahead, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

After playing out three years of his rookie deal out of Cal, Allen signed a four-year, $45MM extension, avoiding free agency. Before that deal could expire, the Chargers extended him again on his most recent four-year deal. If he fails to extend his contract in Chicago, he will hit NFL free agency for the first time. He has a lot that he can prove in a potential contract year. At 32 years old, Allen will try to put up career numbers for the second year in a row but will do so this time with a rookie quarterback. He’ll also be competing for targets with D.J. Moore, who showed how dominant he could be as Chicago’s WR1 last year.

The other option sees Allen enjoying a multi-year stay with the Bears. Allen may utilize his new representation to avoid free agency once again and sign an extension to stay in Chicago. This is a route that Allen has claimed to be open to with the Bears but one that he failed to see through this past year with the Chargers, who reportedly offered him another extension to stay in Los Angeles.

Perhaps the change in representation marks a change in contract year strategies for the veteran pass catcher. Maybe instead of continuing to extend his contracts before they expire, Allen has the intention of finally testing the free agent market and hired new agents to handle the situation. Only the future will tell.

TE Marcedes Lewis Re-Signs With Bears

June 12th, 2024 at 8:50am CST by Ely Allen

JUNE 12: Lewis agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. These terms match Lewis’ 2023 Bears agreement. The Bears are guaranteeing the 40-year-old tight end $1MM, with part of that sum a $400K signing bonus.

JUNE 9: There are lots of new faces coming to the Bears offense in 2024 with running back D’Andre Swift, wide receiver Keenan Allen, and center Coleman Shelton joining last year’s veteran addition of D.J. Moore. There’s also plenty of youth being infused as top-10 picks Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze arrive in Chicago, as well. With so much change in the locker room, the coaching staff will be happy to see veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis return in 2024.

Lewis informed Jay Glazer of FOX Sports he will meet with the Bears on Monday with the intention to re-sign in Chicago. On the same day that we see Darren Waller retire after nine years in the league, the NFL’s second-longest-tenured player announces that he intends to return for Year 19. With Lewis being a first-round pick out of UCLA in 2006, only Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (drafted in 2005) has been in the NFL longer than he.

Lewis spent the majority of his career in Jacksonville, playing 12 years with the Jaguars. He would finally leave Duval for Green Bay, signing three one-year contracts followed by a two-year deal in five seasons with the Packers. Lewis waited until the final month before the season in 2023 to sign with the Bears, breaking the record for most seasons played by a tight end in NFL history. He’ll presumably continue to expand that legacy in 2024.

Lewis has never been a relatively productive tight end. Including a Pro Bowl season in 2010 that saw Lewis record career-highs in catches (58), yards (700), and touchdowns (10), Lewis has only broken the 500-yard receiving mark three times and caught more than four touchdowns twice. Since 2012, he hasn’t recorded over 400 yards in a season, and since leaving Jacksonville, his highest yardage total in a season has been 214.

None of that is to say that Lewis is not a strong contributor, even as he enters his age-40 season. Just last year saw Lewis grade out as the league’s fifth-best tight end, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), thanks to some stellar blocking grades, something for which Lewis has been known throughout his career. Despite his dwindling receiving contributions in the last several years, Lewis has remained a starter in most seasons. After starting four games in his first season with the Packers, Lewis became a full-time starter for the next three and a half years.

Lewis started four games in Chicago while appearing in every contest last year. He saw minimal targets, catching fewer than 10 passes for the second straight season but still saw significant snaps as TE2 for the Bears behind Cole Kmet. With Kmet as a premier receiving tight end, finishing ninth in receiving yards for the position last year, the Bears don’t need Lewis to be the every-down tight end he once was in his career. But his vast years of experience have clearly made him an asset in the locker room as he continues to get contracts in the NFL.

Bears, Teven Jenkins Haven’t Talked Extension

June 5th, 2024 at 5:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Teven Jenkins is entering the final year of his contract. While the offensive guard is interested in extending his stay in Chicago, it sounds like the organization hasn’t been especially active in attempting to re-sign the veteran.

While speaking with reporters today (including Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times), Jenkins acknowledged that his camp “reached out” to the Bears about an extension but “nothing is on the table.” When asked about the front office’s inaction, the offensive lineman described the potential negotiations as “up in the air.”

The former second-round pick is entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. As Finley notes, general manager Ryan Poles has recently handed out a handful of extensions, with the reporter pointing to tight end Cole Kmet, defensive end Montez Sweat, nose tackle Andrew Billings, kicker Cairo Santos, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.

“I mean, it’s good to see that stuff — that the Bears are willing to do that,” Jenkins said. “But every situation is different. We have to go about it, me and my agent, however ‘upstairs’ wants to do it.”

Jenkins has yet to play a full season, so the Bears may be a bit wary of extending the player too soon. The 26-year-old did stay relatively healthy in 2024; after sitting on injured reserve for the first four games, Jenkins played in 12 of his team’s remaining 13 contests.

After struggling as an offensive tackle, Jenkins took off after switching to guard during his sophomore season. Pro Football Focus graded him as the third-best guard during the 2022 campaign, and he finished 2023 ranked 14th among qualifying players. The lineman also spent time at both LG and RG, and that versatility could end up helping the Bears down the line.

The organization has been especially active in surrounding Caleb Williams with as much talent as possible. While the team may be dragging their feet a bit with Jenkins, the organization will surely want the offensive lineman locked in for the foreseeable future if he has another strong campaign.

Keenan Allen Open To Bears Extension

June 4th, 2024 at 9:12pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears acquired veteran wideout Keenan Allen with the understanding that it could be a one-season pairing. While the two sides have yet to discuss an extension, Allen made it clear that he’d be interested in re-signing with Chicago…although the Bears would have to pay him accordingly.

[RECENT: WR Keenan Allen Addresses Chargers Departure]

“I’m going to play as long as I can,” Allen told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times. “As far as an extension, I’m going to let the play speak for itself, and if they offer me something that I like, we’ll go from there.”

Allen is entering the final season of a four-year, $80.1MM extension he signed with the Chargers back in 2020. The wideout is attached to a $34MM-plus cap hit in 2024 and an $18MM-plus base salary, which contributed to his trade from the Chargers. Before Los Angeles dealt their star receiver, the front office attempted to negotiate an extension with the player. Allen was presented with “multiple contract options,” although it sounds like each of those routes would have come with a 2024 pay cut.

The Bears were willing to absorb Allen’s financial commitment for the 2024 campaign, as the organization was focused on surrounding first-overall pick Caleb Williams with as much talent as possible. Allen was certainly a worthy target. In addition to his lengthy resume, the wideout notably rebounded from a disappointing 2022 campaign, finishing the 2023 season with 108 catches for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.

If the Bears hope to retain Allen beyond the 2024 campaign, they’ll have to compete with a rapidly increasing WR market. Allen noted as much, saying that Justin Jefferson‘s four-year, $140MM extension with the Vikings once again “reset” the market. With the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and CeeDee Lamb also set to receive lucrative new deals, it’s in Allen’s best interest to remain patient.

It sounds like the Bears also aren’t feeling much urgency to complete an extension. As Finley notes, the Bears have “yet to engage Allen on a new deal.” As the writer notes, the team also somewhat prepared for a potential Allen exit when they selected Rome Odunze with the ninth-overall selection.

While neither side is in any particular rush to complete a deal, it sounds like they’re both interested in a long-term arrangement. After spending his entire professional career in California, Allen said it hasn’t been difficult getting used to Chicago.

“It wouldn’t be hard to adjust to a city like this,” Allen said.

Front Office Updates: White, Pats, Steelers

May 29th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Former Bears assistant director of pro scouting Chris White has reportedly been removed from the team’s website, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. White had been promoted to the role two years ago after five years as a pro scout for the team.

While nothing official has been announced yet, rumors have it that White is heading to Washington, where he’ll serve as the Commanders‘ new director of pro scouting. White would essentially be filling the role vacated by former director of pro personnel Chris Polian, who is an advisor now in Cleveland.

Here are a couple of other rumors in NFL front offices from around the league:

  • Stratton also tells us that the Patriots are adding a new member to their pro scouting staff in Bob Kronenberg. Kronenberg has had an interesting career path following the end of his playing career in the Arena Football League. Kronenberg spent five games as head coach of the former AFL’s Georgia Force in 2004. Eight years later, he joined the Falcons’ front office as a pro scout. After six years working in the team’s scouting department, Kronenberg accepted a role as Atlanta’s assistant offensive line coach, a role he’s held since 2019. Kronenberg will now find his way back to the front office in New England.
  • Lastly, the Steelers are reportedly bringing on Jim Noel as a new area scout, according to Stratton. Noel has plenty of NFL experience, starting as a scouting intern for the Chiefs in 2015 and working his way up to pro scout after two years. He then spent three years as the northeast area scout for the Browns before heading to the collegiate ranks to work recruiting staff roles at Army and Nebraska.

Bears Staffer Ryan Griffin Playing QB In Italy, Expected To Join Team In June

May 29th, 2024 at 3:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ryan Griffin‘s lengthy career as an NFL reserve quarterback ended after the 2022 season. The Buccaneers, who had rostered Griffin as a third-stringer behind Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert, did not re-sign the experienced practice arm last year.

This led Griffin to the coaching ranks. He joined the Bears’ staff as an offensive assistant, but the NFC North team agreed to an unusual arrangement that is allowing the longtime QB to continue throwing passes. Griffin is finishing up a season in the Italian Football League. He will join the Bears later in the offseason.

Griffin signed with Skorpions Varese of the IFL late last year and has been playing with the team since its season began in March. Matt Eberflus said the expectation is Griffin is at the Bears’ mandatory minicamp, per The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain (subscription required). That said, Griffin’s IFL team holds the league’s top seed in the playoffs, going 8-0 in the regular season. The IFL playoffs begin with opening-round games June 8, so it should be expected the QB/rookie staffer will return overseas to finish out his season.

While this is a rather unusual schedule for a coach attempting to break into the league, the Bears did accommodate one of their players — Marquise Goodwin — in the not-so-distant past as he moonlighted in another sport. Goodwin attempted to qualify for Team USA’s long jump roster back in 2021. However, the London Olympian did not make the Tokyo team and was on the field by the start of training camp.

Griffin, 34, became the rare third-string quarterback to enjoy a lengthy tenure with a team. The Bucs claimed Griffin off waivers in 2015 and then kept him around on five additional contracts from 2017-22. The Tulane alum only saw action in 2019, throwing four passes. But he managed to play 10 NFL seasons, finishing his career in Brady’s final season. The Bears, who employed the NFL’s other Ryan Griffin (a tight end) in Ryan Poles‘ first offseason as GM, have the rookie assistant set to work with QBs and wide receivers in his debut season.

Elsewhere on Chicago’s staff, Poles is making more adjustments to his scouting department. The Bears are promoting Ryan Weese from Combine scout to Midwest area scout and hiring Nick Papagno as their new Combine scout, InsidetheLeague.com’s Neil Stratton tweets. Papagno previously worked with the Raiders. Previous Bears Midwest scout Ryan Cavanaugh will shift to the southeast on Poles’ staff.

Load More Posts