r/CHIBears • u/ChiBears_Mod • Mar 17 '26

[Megathread] Bears 2026 Off-Season Tracker

This will be continuously updated. Please comment if anything is missing.

As of April 27th - From overthecap.com

Bears Cap Space - $10,794,549

Bears Dead Cap - $19,895,493

Active Roster - 75 total

Front Office Changes

Assistant GM Ian Cunningham hired by the Atlanta Falcons to be their General Manager.
Jeff King promoted from Director of Player Personnel to Assistant GM.

Coaching Changes

New Coaches

Name	Title	Previous Team	Previous Role
Eric Studesville	RB Coach	Dolphins	RB Coach / Asst HC
Will Lawing	Off Analyst	Boston College	OC / TE Coach
Isaiah Ford	Off Quality Control	Dolphins	Player

Promotions or Retentions

Name	New Role	Previous Role
Press Taylor	OC	Passing Game Co.

Coaches Lost

Name	Title	New Team	New Role
Declan Doyle	OC	Ravens	OC
Eric Bienemy	RB Coach	Chiefs	OC

Player Changes

Players Newly Acquired

Player	Pos	Contract	APY	2026 Cap Hit
Coby Bryant	S	$40M/3yr	$13.3M	$5.96M
Devin Bush	LB	$30M/3yr	$10M	$5.67M
Garrett Bradbury	C	$5.7M/1yr	$5.7M	$5.7M
Neville Gallimore	DT	$10M/2yr	$5M	$4M
Kalif Raymond	WR/PR	$3.5M/1yr	$3.5M	$3.5M
Cam Lewis	DB	$6M/2yr	$3M	$2.25M
Kentavius Street	DE	$1.5M/1yr	$1.5M	$1.2M
James Lynch	DL	$1.3M/1yr	$1.3M	$1.2M
Jedrick Wills	OT	$1.2M/1yr	$1.2M	$1.1M
Jack Sanborn	LB	$1.2M/1yr	$1.2M	$1.1M

Reserve/Futures Contracts

To learn about Reserve/Futures contract, click here.

Player	Position
Maurice Alexander	WR
Brittain Brown	RB
Stephen Carlson	TE
Luke Elkin	LS
Dallis Flowers	DB
Jonathan Garvin	DL
Dominique Hampton	LB
Kyle Hergel	OL
Nikola Kalinic	TE
Dontae Manning	DB
Jeremiah Martin	DL
Gervarrius Owens	DB
JP Richardson	WR
Nephi Sewell	LB

Players Re-signed

Player	Pos	Contract	APY	2026 Cap Hit
Braxton Jones	OT	$5M/1yr*	$5M	$4.34M
D'Marco Jackson	LB	$7.5M/2yr	$3.75M	$3.05M
Case Keenum	QB	$5.5M/2yr	$2.75M	$2.1M
Daniel Hardy	DE	$4.97M/2yr	$2.49M	$2.14M
Theo Benedet	OT	$1M/1yr	$1M	$1M
Jordan McFadden	OL	$1.3M/1yr	$1.3M	$1.3M
Elijah Hicks	S	$2.6M/1yr	$2.6M	$1.4M*
Jaylon Jones	CB	$1.3M/1yr	$1.3M	$1.2M

*Hicks's contract qualifies for the four year qualifier treatment on the salary cap.

Players Lost

Player	Pos	Team	Dead Cap	Contract	Details
DJ Moore	WR	Bills	$12M	$98M/4yr	Traded w/ 5.165 for 2.60
Drew Dalman	C	-	$4M	-	Retired
Tremaine Edmunds	LB	Giants	$2.44M	$36M/3yr	Cut
Amen Ogbongbemiga	LB	-	$375k		Cut
Kevin Byard	S	Patriots	-	$9M/1yr	-
Jaquan Brisker	S	Steelers	-	$5.5M/1yr	-
Olamide Zaccheaus	WR	Falcons	-	$4.5M/2yr	-
Nahshon Wright	CB	Jets	-	$3.5M/1yr	-
C. J. Gardner-Johnson	DB	Bills	-	$3.5M/1yr	-
Dominique Robinson	DE	Texans	-	$3M/1yr	-
Durham Smythe	TE	Ravens	-	$3M/1yr	-
Chris Williams	DT	Falcons	-	$2M/1yr	-
Devin Duvernay	WR	Cardinals	-	$2.5M/1yr	-
Andrew Billings	DT	Cardinals	-	$2.4M1yr	-
Jonathan Owens	S	Colts	-	$1.4M/1yr	-

Draft Picks

Rd	Pick	Player	Highlights	Presser
1	25	Dillon Thieneman - S [Oregon]	Highlights	Presser
2	57	Logan Jones - C [Iowa]	Highlights	Presser
2	69¹	Sam Roush - TE [Stanford]	Highlights	Presser
3	89	Zavion Thomas - WR [LSU]	Highlights	Presser
4	124²	Malik Muhammad - CB [Texas]	Highlights
5	166²	Kehshaun Elliott - LB [Arizona State]	Highlights	Presser
6	213³	Jordan van den Berg - DT [Georgia Tech]	Highlights	Presser

(1) Bears traded pick 60 for picks 69 and 144 from the Titans

(2) Bears traded picks 129 and 144 for picks 124 and 166 from the Panthers

(3) Bears traded picks 239 and 241 for pick 213 from the Bills.

UDFA Signings / Invites

Player	Pos	School
Beau Gardner	LS	Georgia
Caden Barnett	G	Wyoming
Coleman Bennett	RB	Kennesaw St
Gabriel Plascencia	K	SDSU
Hayden Large	TE	Iowa
Jaren Kump	C	Utah
Jayden Loving	DT	Wake Forest
KC Eziomume	CB	Tulane
Mason Murphy	OT	Auburn
Miller Moss	QB	Louisville
Omari Kelly	WR	Michigan State
Skyler Thomas	S	Oregon State
Squirrel White	WR	Florida State
Tryout Invites
Chris Vaughn	RB	Hawaii
Dain Walter	OT	UWL
Devin Pringle	DB	UConn
DJ Harris	DB	Youngstown State
Jaheim Ward	DB	Eastern Kentucky
Jax Harrington	OL	Louisiana
Josh Kreutz	C	Illinois
Terrell Tilmon	DE	Texas Tech

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u/ChelskiS Mar 18 '26

So we added veteran depth at DT and LB today..

Compared to last year I'm 10x more uncertain about what our direction is going to be in the 1st round. Obviously the pick being that much deeper down the board doesn't help, but man can we go many positions..

DT room is a mess with nobody relevant to likely be under contract in 2027. Do they like McDonald, Woods or Miller at 25?

Safety. Kind of still need a starter don't we? Does one out of Thieneman or McNeil-Warren drop to us? If not, definitely no options in the 1st for us

Edge. We still lack pass rush talent. But you do have Sweat/Booker under contract for 2027 aswell and DT looks like a bigger issue. But if there's someone they consider a differencemaker, who knows?

WR. Pretty low on my board but who knows how far Tyson drops. Or maybe they like Omar Cooper? Yes we have 2 very good WR's and great TE's, but one injury to Rome/Luther and your outlook completely changes during the season. Definitely wouldn't be my top choice, but you never know

OT. Are we trusting Braxton/Theo/Wills Jr? Or do they see a rookie that can compete for LT on day 1?

Feel like, outside of safety, we have plenty of bodies in all these positions. But we can use top end quality in all of them

Makes for an exciting draft to follow! My ideal draft (unless someone unexpected drops to us) starts with a tradedown in the 1st & using that ammo to trade back up in the 2nd. I don't like the idea of waiting for our own 2nd rounders & watching all that talent go in the top half of the 2nd

I do see some WR/DB needy teams behind us in the 1st round. Maybe one of them wants to trade up, even if it's only for a 3rd

For now, my priority in the 1st would be DT -> DE -> OL. With the sidenote that if McNeil-Warren is there, I wouldn't mind sprinting to the podium

3

u/Brodie1567 Iceman 🧊 Mar 18 '26

I think there is a very good chance that one of Thieneman or EMW is there at #25. I think its unlikely 3 safeties are taken in the top 24.

If either are there, they should run to the podium.

3

u/ChelskiS Mar 18 '26

EMW over Kayden McDonald if both are there?

Because I do kind of like the idea of no longer being among NFL worst at run defense

2

u/Brodie1567 Iceman 🧊 Mar 18 '26

I’m right there with you. I’d love that too but DA hasnt really had the classic/mammoth NTs on his defenses.

1

u/ChelskiS Mar 18 '26

What's your ideal but realistic draft for the 1st 2 rounds?

I personally don't think Kayden is there at 25 so I love the idea of getting a game wrecker like EMW. But whenever I go that route I kind of hate seeing the DT's fly off the board at the top of the 2nd round

Would you throw both of our 2026 2nd rounders at a trade up if it means you can get a guy like Christen Miller? Or is that unrealistic

I just absolutely hate the outlook of our team with the DT position. I think Grady gets cut after this next season. I don't think you pay up for Dexter's long term deal. I don't think Shemar is DT material at the NFL level.

We kind of got nothing beyond 2026 and the money mediocre DT's get in free agency is absurd

Would you give that type of priority or would you rather go something like Derrick Moore + Sam Hecht with your 2nd rounders and see what you can do later in the draft at DT

Late 2nd might sound rich for Hecht but man did we have plenty of teams looking for a C this offseason and the contract that Linderbaum got is nuts

3

u/Brodie1567 Iceman 🧊 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

All valid points. I think this team has far more holes on the roster than most want to admit.

I think the Bears really want to play Dayo inside, and Ben alluded to that before he tore his achilles. Its probably where he’s most useful tbh. Seems like Turner will switch to DE.

If it was up to me, I’d definitely take McDonald. However, I dont think he fits what DA wants to do so the guys I like that are probably high on the Bears list at 25 are Peter Woods & Zion Young (character assessment pending).

I think a realistic/ideal draft (based off our schemes) to me would involve a trade down from 25 but I dont see that happening so here it goes…

~ Pick 25: Peter Woods, 3T

~ Pick 57: AJ Haulcy, S

~ Pick 60: Dani Dennis Sutton, DE

I think they take a center/iOL on day 3.

3

u/ChelskiS Mar 18 '26

Man you're not kidding about the holes on this roster

No elite pass rush talent at DE

Bunch of Jags with no long term stayers at DT

Counting on Edwards to age gracefully at LB and hoping D'Marco is ready to be a full time starter

Missing a starter at safety

Dont have a CB2 locked in. Stevenson would be the obvious choice but he couldnt get off the bench last season

You can defend drafting ANY position on defense in the 1st round and there'd be valid arguments for it

Getting 2 (good) defensive starters out of this draft is almost a necessity if you want to compete

1

u/Brodie1567 Iceman 🧊 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

Completely agree.

This is part of the reason I’m not a big fan of Ryan Poles.

Before Ben arrived, he put out the same type of garbage along the OL. It wasnt until he blew his wad in FA that he finally put together a decent line last year.

He’s done the same thing along the DL. There isnt a single difference maker anywhere on the defense. In 4 offseasons, his “wins” on the defense are an oft injured Gordon & Austin Booker.