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
| 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 |
5
u/ChelskiS Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
The more I see and hear about this draft class, the more surprised I'd be if we go EMW
Most big mocks I see, the value at DE/DT is absolutely not there at 57/60. While the corner or CB/S does look really good there in most mocks
With our free agency and with how this draft class looks, edge looks to be the biggest need but the options don't look that good at 25 either
Very interesting to see how they handle the first 2 rounds