Windy City Gridiron
The NFL’s new league year opens up in 22 days from Tuesday. With many teams around the league looking to make roster moves before the start of free agency, we’ll look at Chicago Bears players’ futures that have questions to be answered in the coming months.
The 2024 NFL season might have come to a close, but all eyes will remain on the league for the next few months. With the conclusion of football on the field comes the drama of the NFL offseason. The new league year opens in just under three weeks, which means there are plenty of questions for each team to answer before the start of the acquisition period.
The Chicago Bears and their new coaching staff are no exception. Changes were needed after another disappointing season that saw a projected nine-win team go (5-12). Despite keeping the same front office, the Bears hired a new coaching staff with minimal holdovers from the Matt Eberflus era. Because of that, there’s guaranteed to be plenty of change within the team’s roster.
Before they can get to free agency and the draft, they must make some decisions on players that remain under contract for 2025. Although this roster is closer than it showed in 2024, the combination of cost and fit could drive Chicago into multiple tough decisions over the next few weeks. We’ll dive into five players that have their futures up in the air.
The long-time Tennessee Titan appears past his prime in many regards. Even so, he had a quality first season in Chicago, considering the injuries around him and the lack of pressure created by the front four. Eberflus clearly valued leadership on the back end, which was why Byard was brought in on a two-year, $15 million deal just before the start of free agency last March.
Although Dennis Allen’s defense has many similarities, he values versatility in his secondaries. Byard isn’t the ballhawk he used to be, but he’s still better suited as a free safety than when he plays closer to the line of scrimmage. Complicating matters even more, Jaquan Brisker missed over half last season after sustaining a concussion before the team’s bye week.
Byard, who is in the final year of his contract, is set to count as $8.5 million against the cap. While the Bears aren’t up against the cap by any means, they could save $7 million by moving on. Considering the top-end of the free agent market at the position, it stands to reason that the Bears could find a younger, better option with a similar cap hit for 2024. Even if I’d still lean toward the veteran being back in 2025, the defensive staff’s vision for this group could play a key role in their plans for safety.
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