Chicago had quite the turnaround in 2018. Head Coach Matt Nagy and Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfrich brought some nice wrinkles to the Bears offense. To anyone who was paying attention, the Defense was already solid, adding Khalil Mack and Roquan Smith made it that much better. Going from 5-11 in 2017 to 12-4 this year is quite impressive. For even more on the Bears' free agency, be sure to check out this podcast episode of Bear With Me over on Windy City Gridiron.
The free-agents-to-be for Chicago are listed below, we'll check in and see who's who.
Special Teams
- Pat O'Donnell (P) - A sixth round pick by the Bears in 2014, O'Donnell has been steady in his 5 seasons. The 44.9 yards per punt average is just fine, though on the lower end of the spectrum. Pat put 28 of his 62 punts down inside the 20 yard line, slightly better than league-average. There is no reason for Chicago not to bring O'Donnell back on a long-term deal.
- Patrick Scales (LS) - Patty Snaps has been getting the ball back to O'Donnell since 2015, but missed 2017 with a torn ACL. Who knew you couldn't snap on a gimpy knee? Anyway, he'll probably be back snapping super-snaps next year and beyond.
Defense
- Bryce Callahan (CB) - The Bears' slot corner had a great season that ended in injury. Prior to going down, Callahan played 14 games contributing heavily to Fangio's pass defense unit that finished seventh in yards allowed. Callahan managed to put pressure on the quarterback consistently as well. He's going to be a hot commodity (as far as slot corners go anyway) and the Bears may miss out if they don't come with cash.
- Marcus Williams (CB) - Williams is a journeyman DB who joined Chicago for the final 2 games of the season after Bryce Callahan was placed on IR. Williams logged 12 defensive snaps and 17 on special teams. He'll most likely be looking for work elsewhere in 2019.
- Adrian Amos (S) - A mainstay in the Bears secondary since his drafting in the fifth round of 2015, Amos has turned into one of the better value picks in that draft. A second-tier safety in the league this season, he came down with 3 interceptions (1 in the playoffs) and 11 passes defended (2 in the playoffs). He and free safety Eddie Jackson formed a nice duo in the middle of the field and we'd like to see Chicago bring him back. We think Chicago would like to see themselves bringing him back too.
- DeAndre Houston-Carson (S) - If you're looking for a special teams player this is your man. He probably won't be a top priority for the team, but it's not unlikely they bring him back to continue on kickoff and punt coverage.
- Aaron Lynch (LB) - Lynch was was fifth round pick of San Francisco in 2014 and started strong with 6 sacks in each of his first two seasons. 2016 and 2017 saw a huge dip in production and the Niners let him walk. Chicago gave him a one-year prove-it deal and, in limited snaps, he appears to have proved it. Three sacks, four tackles for loss, and eight QB hits in only 33.6% of Chicago's defensive plays is impressive. He may have played too well for Chicago to afford him.
- Isaiah Irving (LB) - An undrafted free agent signing in 2017, Irving is now an exclusive rights free agent. Chicago may be looking at him to return especially if Lynch departs. It could also come down to whether or not they look at a linebacker in the upcoming draft.
- Nicholas Williams (DE) - Sometimes known as "Nick," Nicholas came into the league as a seventh-rounder in 2013 with Pittsburgh. He's had cups of coffee with Kansas City and Miami as well. After playing a grand total of 44 defensive snaps (4.2%), it appears to not matter much whether the Bears bring him back.
- Roy Robertson-Harris (DE) - Heading into 2018, we thought RRH was going to blow up (in a good way). His promising rookie season in 2017 seemed to indicate big things ahead. He didn't have a poor season by any means, but was overshadowed by Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, and Bilal Nichols. This may work out in Chicago's favor, as Robertson-Harris is an exclusive rights free agent, they may be able to re-sign him for some high quality depth at a very reasonable price.
Offense
- Benny Cunningham (RB) - Benny is a fan-favorite after joining the Bears last season following his rookie contract with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams. Strictly a depth/emergency piece behind the dynamic duo of Jordan Howard (power) and Tarik Cohen (finesse), Cunningham only handled the rock 11 times this year. Jordan Howard is entering his final season on a rookie contract, so we wonder if Chicago may be looking to draft a running back this spring, waiting in the wings should Howard look elsewhere for his big payday deal. Cunningham is young too with limited wear, he could stick around.
- Michael Burton (FB) - Please leave a comment if you were aware Michael Burton existed as an NFL player. Michael is a fullback. Fullback is an antiquated position in today's NFL. Michael played 49 offensive snaps for Chicago and another 50 on special teams. If the Bears opt to bring him back, you can count that as a wasted roster spot. We're sure Mike is a great guy, though!
- Kevin White (WR) - A very high draft pick in 2015, Kevin was the seventh overall selection for a Bears franchise searching for its Anquan Boldin to Alshon Jeffery's Larry Fitzgerald. Kevin could not stay healthy, unfortunately, missing his rookie season after his shin's stress fracture needed surgery. The 2016 campaign was no better as he logged only 4 games before a high ankle sprain and broken fibula sent him back to the IR. 2017? You guessed it! One game, the first game of the season, before exiting early with a fractured scapula. The most recent season saw Kevin begin a regiment of heavy milk-drinking and it paid off as he put in 9 games of work to the tune of 4 receptions. We look forward to seeing Kevin on another team in 2019 and hopefully becoming a reliable third fiddle on the receiving corps.
- Josh Bellamy (WR) - Bellamy was the fourth receiver for Chicago, but did see extensive time on special teams. We see no reason why Pace and Nagy would not opt to offer him another one-year deal as a primary special teamer with emergency wide receiver duties, so he may be back again.
- Daniel Brown (TE) - Blocking tight ends have a place in the NFL and Daniel is one of them. He's transitioned primarily to special teams blocking this season. It appears as though Coach Nagy does not run a ton of two tight end sets. Trey Burton saw 860 offensive snaps and no other Bears TE topped Dion Sims' second-place value of 195. It appears Brown is fairly inconsequential in Nagy's offensive vision. He may be moving elsewhere this summer.
- Zach Miller (TE) - Please pray for Zach Miller as he continues to recover from a dislocated knee injury from the middle of the 2017 season. The injury might have cost him his leg and doctors advised he may never be able to run again. The Bears signed Miller to a one-year deal out of pure class and character last year and moved him to the reserve/PUP (physically unable to perform) list. We hope Miller gets a shot at playing again should his leg allow it. He's a solid player.
- Ben Braunecker (TE) - The Bears brought Ben Braunecker back bin b2018 bfrom bthe bpractice bsquad. He filled Zach Miller's vacated active spot and played a lot of special teams for the Bears but also helped block on offense occasionally. He's a restricted free agent, so Chicago will have first crack at bringing him back.
- Bobby Massie (RT) - Massie finished his third season with the Bears after leaving Arizona as a free agent. While he was perfectly fine at right tackle for Chicago, Massie was basically average. He played well enough to possibly generate some interest and bring in some decent cash for himself, and Chicago might be forced to look elsewhere to round out their front five.
- Rashaad Coward (RT) - If you listened to the Bear With Me podcast we linked to above, you heard what Robert thinks the Bears should do with Rashaad Coward, and we agree with him. Coward came in as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and played fill-in duty for one game...as a defensive tackle. Offensive Line coach Harry Hiestand appears to have turned DL-to-OL convert Coward into his pet project. Coward saw no field time in 2018, but the Bears may be willing to take a chance on Coward and sign a cheap veteran or draft a prospect in April to compete in training camp for that starting spot.
- Eric Kush (LG) - The starter at left guard to begin the season, Kush kept the seat warm while Chicago eased second round rookie James Daniels into the starting role. By week eight, Kush had moved to a reserve role and at season's end he was playing sparingly as a special teams offensive lineman. He could return as depth or search for a chance to start elsewhere (Arizona?).
- Bryan Witzmann (LG) - Veteran fringe player Bryan Witzmann was added midseason when Kyle Long hit IR with a foot injury. Witzmann started 7 games and filled in admirably, but he's bound to land elsewhere in 2019.
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