NFL free agency will be here before we know it, and the Chicago Bears have plenty of players set to hit the market. From key starters to valuable reserves, general manager Ryan Poles will have important decisions to make about who to bring back.
Here at Bears Wire, we’re going through each individual player and breaking down their 2022 performance and whether or not they fit in the Bears’ long-term plans.
Next up is wide receiver Byron Pringle, who didn’t have nearly the production many expected after being the team’s top wide receiver acquisition last offseason.
2022 stats
- 10 receptions, 135 yards, 2 touchdowns (11 games)
2022 review
Pringle was the big addition at wide receiver for the Bears last offseason, where the hope was he could develop into a consistent playmaker for this offense. Unfortunately, the Pringle experiment didn’t work out. Pringle contributed primarily as a run blocker for Chicago’s top-ranked run game. He totaled just 10 receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns, where injuries limited him to just 11 games. While Pringle did have some nice moments, including some impressive catches, he didn’t live up to the WR2 expectations.
Positional need: High
Wide receiver was a huge need for the Bears last offseason, and it remains an important one as Fields head into a pivotal Year 3. Chicago had the worst passing game in the NFL last season, due to a number of factors, including underwhelming play at the receiver position. Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool are the notable wideouts on the roster, but Chicago is in need of a true No. 1 receiver for Fields, especially after we’ve seen young quarterbacks make a big leap with one. Unfortunately, there aren’t any true WR1 in free agency, but there are some potential cap casualties and trade candidates where the Bears might be able to make a move.
The future
It’s difficult to evaluate Pringle considering the Bears had the worst passing game in the NFL, where they averaged less than 200 passing yards per game. With that said, it’s also hard to justify paying him $4 million a year for the production they got out of him in 11 games last season. When looking at the current roster, Chicago has Mooney, Claypool, Velus Jones Jr. and Equanimeous St. Brown under contract. They’ll look to bolster the group with some potential sneaky additions while also exploring the NFL draft for some playmakers for Fields. A Pringle return in 2023 just doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
2023 free agency profiles
We’re highlighting the Bears’ most notable free agents set to hit the open market in March:
| David Montgomery | Nicholas Morrow | N’Keal Harry |
| DeAndre Houston-Carson | Riley Reiff | Byron Pringle |
| Sam Mustipher (2/27) | Patrick Scales (2/28) | Khari Blasingame (3/1) |
| Angelo Blackson (3/2) | Matt Adams (3/3) | Michael Schofield (3/4) |
| Mike Pennel (3/5) | Joe Thomas (3/6) | Armon Watts (3/7) |
| Dane Cruikshank (3/8) | Ryan Griffin (3/9) | Dante Pettis (3/10) |
