Bear Digest

Prioritizing Potential Bears Free Agents Now in Contract Years

All the players on this year's Bears roster who would be gone without a contract extension from GM Ryan Poles by next March, and the situation they face trying to get them.

Gene Chamberlain

Teven Jenkins approaches the blocking dummy on a pass play drill during minicamp. Jenkins is the top Bears player without a contract for 2025.
Teven Jenkins approaches the blocking dummy on a pass play drill during minicamp. Jenkins is the top Bears player without a contract for 2025. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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There is no motivation like the contract year.

Some players are in them constantly. Those would be the one-year deal guys, the kind Bears GM Ryan Poles built the temporary Bears foundation on in 2022 while he went about setting up the real foundation with players who deserved more years. These were players like Nick Morrow, Riley Reiff, Michael Schofield and Byron Pringle.

Then there are the players whose contracts are expiring, and they face critical seasons for their future.

Guard Teven Jenkins might rate right at the top of this list for the Bears, even higher than veteran receiver Keenan Allen. After all, Jenkins is only at the end of his first contract and will be reaching his prime when Allen is retiring.

The status of contract talks during minicamp earlier this month?

"We reached out but nothing is on the table," Jenkins said.

Poles doesn't do these things willy nilly.

"I try to be intentional with the order that we do extensions, so we'll review that and kind of see what our order looks like," Poles said about the team's process in general, while he was discussing Allen's potential future.

The next one up is Jenkins but he's not the only one on the Bears list for 2025. This season represents a time to produce or leave town for many Bears.

Here are the Bears with expiring contracts this year. Think of these like a bill for a subscription or some other similar item and it comes in the mail with a stamp on it: Attention required now! Poles will need to get something done with some of these before this NFL calendar expires in March or they're elsewhere.

With others, it will be suitcase time again.

Starters

G Teven Jenkins

A top 15 guard in the NFL by Pro Football Focus grades the last two years, Jenkins' only fault has been his health. He plays with violence, ferocity, mobility and until the last echo of the whistle ends.

WR Keenan Allen

It's a one-year deal and he's been called a rental player who can be a comfort blanket over the middle for rookie QB Caleb Williams. Drafting Rome Odunze made it seem all the more likely Allen will leave, but he wants another big extension, likes the team and situation, and says he likes the golf courses he's been able to play in Chicago. The drawback is he's away from his family for the first time since starting one. Do the Bears really need to commit a big part of the 2025 cap to a receiver when DJ Moore's extension will be due before the end of the next season and they could have an even better answer at receiver for years to come in Odunze? Letting him leave and drafting another receiver next year seems like a better use of cap space as Allen is more like a player who could help put a team on the brink into the Super Bowl and the Bears are not there yet.

LB Jack Sanborn

Technically he is a starter, although he was only on the field for about a quarter of the plays last year because they are in nickel coverage, dime coverage or some other matchup-dictated personnel packages that don't require the strongside linebacker's participation. Valued as a backup at the two main linebacker positions on the weakside and middle, also, they probably won't want a player who is also a key special teams player to exit. Ah, but the good news, he's only a restricted free agent. He wasn't drafted, so the fourth year is a team option. The difficult part of this is that as an undrafted player the Bears would have to come up with a tender offer at a level to retain him. They have to set the compensation level with their offer but an undrafted free agent has no original round tender. So a right-of-first-refusal tender would be used. This season it was $2.985 million for a year. Next year it will be more. Do they want to pay this much to retain Sanborn or would they simply be better drafting someone?

C Coleman Shelton

We'll classify him a starter for now because he started for the Rams before signing in Chicago, but his pay was less ($3.5 million) than what they are paying for the player who is competing with him, Ryan Bates ($5 million) so it's conceivable Shelton is only a backup. This is one they'll likely wait on until well into the season to see how it works out.

FB Khari Blasingame

His $1.6 million cap figure for this year is low but also low is the amount of use the Bears might get out of him in this Shane Waldron offense. In Seattle, Waldron didn't even have the position within his offense, so there's no sense looking into his future with the team when it might not even go past the roster cuts this year.

Key Backups and Former Starters

RB Khalil Herbert

It's truly up to this season for Herbert but why would he want to return to a team that could have simply offered to sign him and, instead, went out and signed a replacement in D'Andre Swift? That this is his final Bears season seems obvious, barring an injury to Swift that lets the Bears realize Herbert is better than most teams' backup and maybe a starter if he could somehow stay healthy and learn to play in the passing game.

T Larry Borom

He started for a while under the Ryan Pace/Matt Nagy regime, then became a valued swing man. Now they have a few tackles on the roster who could make it difficult for him to make the team this year let alone get a new contract for next year.

TE Marcedes Lewis

Talking about next year for a 40-year-old tight end seems rather pointless. He's a wonder as a blocker but without this skill he would have been out of the league five or six years ago.

RB Travis Homer

The say he is a valued special teams player and he did tie for the special teams tackle lead, but he hasn't shown up at all on offense as the receiver they said he was. Punt and kick coverage players can be found anywhere. 

CB Josh Blackwell

Only a restricted free agent like Sanborn. It's difficult enough in the league to come up with a slot cornerback like the Bears have in Kyler Gordon but having a backup who does a decent job like Blackwell is a real luxury. He might be their second-best special teams player, too. Still, retaining him on the $3 million amount seems unlikely so he will essentially be an unrestricted free agent trying to negotiate a better deal than the $985,000 he has for this season.

CB Jaylon Jones

Another valuable secondary backup who is a restricted free agent and has filled in outside when needed. The same applies to him that applies to Blackwell's cash situation and free agency status.

WR DeAndre Carter

They didn't bring Carter in as a return man and possible receiver just to let him leave after a year. If he shows he hasn't lost his skill at both, look for him to play a role this year and possibly get a contract before March.

OL Matt Pryor

A team could do much worse for a backup lineman pressed into duty on game day than a player with 24 starts and 75 games played over five seasons.  At 6-foot-7, 332 pounds, and with ability to play guard or tackle, Pryor has a shot at sticking around this year and if he shows backup capability could get brought back. He already spent more time with starters at right guard in the offseason than starter Nate Davis and other roster challengers.

LB Amen Obongbemiga

Signed away from the Chargers as a free agent, the $2.07 million is a good one-year pay for a player they might keep on special teams. Keeping him beyond this for the role he has seems unlikely unless it's on a deal with similar pay, and provided no one younger develops, like mainly Noah Sewell.

LS Patrick Scales

He's on a year-to-year basis now as it is, like any 36-year-old long snapper would be. Fortunately for him, it's a duty plenty of players in their late 30s have performed in the past. It will be a March decision again on him as it has been for several years.

DE Jake Martin

The opportunity is there to get another year and if he did it, he could help solve a real headache facing this team. They need edge rush help badly. He has a season to show he can do more than the 3.0 sacks per year he has averaged.

WR Dante Pettis

When they signed Carter, many interpreted this as a threat to Velus Jones Jr. It's Pettis who faces the real roster threat from Carter.

He'll be a long shot to be around on this year's roster now. Thinking about 2025 is a luxury.

Roster Spot Hopefuls

QB Brett Rypien

His value was familiarity with the offense and not necessarily ability to step in and produce in case of an injury. After this year, they'll have two other QBs with experience in the offense, if not three. So this is likely to be a one-year shot.

CB Greg Stroman Jr.

He failed to make the team last year, but was a practice squad player who produced when called up. Players in this position are important but not enough to warrant better contract situations. Some other team will find he has skills the way the Bears have.

DE Khalid Kareem

He was around the roster and practice squad and didn't provide pass rush needed for a team without one. His one career sack in 28 games for three teams doesn't say much for a chance at a 2025 contract.

S Adrian Colbert

He managed to stick around on the practice squad and even in 2022 on the roster for two games but they have since loaded up their depth at safety.

T Aviante Collins

A practice squad type who has eight games NFL experience in four years with three teams, he'd need to suddenly take major steps forward to be someone they'd want around after this season.

DT Byron Cowart

Like with Collins, the opportunity will be there to earn a spot on the roster because of depth issues they might have but beyond this season nothing would be guaranteed.

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WR Nsimba Webster

He's made a career out of the Bears practice squad. There are no long-term contracts for practice squads.

DE Daniel Hardy

The problems the Bears have at edge rusher have opened up a chance for him to make the roster after injuries derailed his NFL career but beyond a spirited training camp effort there appears little chance to stick around.

TE Tommy Sweeney

It would be a really fun story if he made the team and then had a role and a future after everything he's been through physically but he hasn't been in an NFL game since Dec. 11, 2022 and hasn't caught a pass since Oct. 16 that year.

S Tarvarius Moore

Another player recycling. They could do worse than him if there is a training camp or preseason injury but seeing him in Chicago beyond this season requires one to look awfully hard through a telescope.

T Jake Curhan

His background as a former Shane Waldron player in Seattle who started in nine games helps, but he didn't appear too impressive in offseason work. The chance is there for him because of his position and the need for depth at tackle. If he's able to seize it, then another year would be possible.

WR Freddie Swain

Getting a contract after a rookie camp invite as a veteran is a long shot in and of itself. Now the competition for what likely will be six roster spots will probably too great even for a former sixth-round pick with 42 NFL receptions.

WR Collin Johnson

The novelty of being a 6-foot-6, 222-pound wide receiver wears off after a very short time.

LB Micah Baskerville

The opportunity was there for him as a rookie but he could only get to the practice squad, and now there are other players to battle like Obongbemiga and Sewell. He'll be restricted in the future if he does make the team.

C Doug Kramer

He already left the team once and now the competition for center looks even more difficult with two veterans who have starting experience ahead of him.

TE Stephen Carlson

A comeback tight end much like Sweeney, he was part of the practice squad last year but this is a different offensive coordinator and system. However, when the third tight end is 40 years old there is always the chance that next guy can get onto the roster and then earn a contract for next year. He would be a restricted free agent that year.

DT Michael Dwumfour

The Bears thought enough of him to have him with backup defensive tackles much of OTAs and minicamp. He'd be a restricted free agent next year but most likely won't have to use that status in Chicago.

Longest Shots

These players rate virtually no roster shot and this no chance to be back another year:

P Corliss Waitman, OL Bill Murray, S Douglas Coleman, LS Cameron Lyons, T Jerome Carvin.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.