A year ago, new Bears general manager Ryan Poles took over a roster with his predecessor Ryan Pace’s fingerprints all over it.
Pretty quickly, Poles set about dismantling it.
By January 2023, the Bears look nothing like they did at the end of the 2021 season. Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus tore this thing down to the studs. The Bears willingly ate tons of dead cap space in 2022 in order to clear the books for 2023 and beyond.
As a result, they have more available salary cap space in 2023 than any other team by a mile. They have few big-money contracts still on the books. Numerous Bears are set to become free agents in March. Poles will have to decide who he wants to keep and who he wants to let walk away.
Here’s a full breakdown of where the Bears’ roster stands heading into 2023. Contract status is according to our friends at OverTheCap.com.
Under contract for 2023
* – indicates a player is on a futures contract. The Bears signed several players to futures contracts last week.
Quarterback (2)
Trevor Siemian
Running back (2)
Trestan Ebner
Khalil Herbert
Wide receiver (7)
Chase Claypool
*Daurice Fountain
Velus Jones Jr.
*Joe Reed
Equanimeous St. Brown
*Nsimba Webster
Tight end (3)
*Chase Allen
*Jake Tonges
Offensive tackle (4)
Larry Borom
*Kellen Diesch
Braxton Jones
Alex Leatherwood
Interior offensive line (5)
Ja’Tyre Carter
Doug Kramer
Lucas Patrick
Cody Whitehair
Defensive end (5)
Trevis Gipson
*Gerri Green
Terrell Lewis
Al-Quadin Muhammad
Dominique Robinson
Defensive tackle (3)
Jalyn Holmes
*Donovan Jeter
Justin Jones
Linebacker (4)
*Kuony Deng
DeMarquis Gates
Jack Sanborn
Sterling Weatherford
Cornerback (7)
Josh Blackwell
Kyler Gordon
Harrison Hand
Jaylon Johnson
Jaylon Jones
Michael Ojemudia
Kindle Vildor
Safety (5)
Jaquan Brisker
*Adrian Colbert
Elijah Hicks
Eddie Jackson
A.J. Thomas
Special teams (2)
P Trenton Gill
K Cairo Santos
Restricted free agents (Bears have the option to match offers from other teams):
RB Darrynton Evans
C Sam Mustipher
DT Andrew Brown
CB Breon Borders
Exclusive rights free agents (if the Bears offer a contract at league minimum, these players cannot negotiate with other teams):
OG Dieter Eiselen
Unrestricted free agents:
QB Tim Boyle
QB Nathan Peterman
FB Khari Blasingame
WR N’Keal Harry
WR Dante Pettis
WR Byron Pringle
TE Ryan Griffin
TE Trevon Wesco
OT Riley Reiff
OG Dakota Dozier
OG Michael Schofield
DT Angelo Blackson
DT Mike Pennel
DT Armon Watts
LB Matt Adams
LB Elijah Lee
LB Nicholas Morrow
LB Joe Thomas
S Dane Cruikshank
S DeAndre Houston-Carson
LS Patrick Scales
Some general thoughts and observations:
- The list of impending free agents is long. Re-signing running back David Montgomery is almost certainly a priority. Poles has been clear that he loves Montgomery’s style. The running back market in free agency is deep, which might make signing Montgomery easier for the Bears. He is likely the team’s only potential target for the franchise tag. The franchise tag for a running back is going to cost an estimated $10 million in 2023.
- Other priorities among unrestricted free agents might be fullback Khari Blasingame, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, safety and special teams ace DeAndre Houston-Carson and long snapper Patrick Scales. The Bears could bring back one receiver among N’Keal Harry, Dante Pettis and Byron Pringle, but they probably won’t bring all of them back.
- Among restricted free agents, the Bears will likely seek to bring back running back Darrynton Evans and center Sam Mustipher. They should also bring back guard Dieter Eiselen, who is an exclusive rights free agent, for depth on the interior.
- The Bears will continue to pay dead money on the contracts of Robert Quinn, Danny Trevathan, Mario Edwards Jr., Tarik Cohen, Jeremiah Attaochu and Zachary Thomas in 2023.
- The Bears have nine selections in the 2023 draft, including the first overall pick. In addition to the first pick, they have a second-round pick, a third-round pick, two fourth-round picks, three fifth-round picks and a seventh-round pick.
Source: The Daily Chronicle