The Bears have been busy with a flurry of moves as they try to sharpen their roster — and make prudent salary cap decisions.
They can start agreeing to deals with free agents Monday, though players can't officially sign their contracts until the start of the league year Wednesday.
Here's a look at who the Bears have gained and lost:
March 13
Cornerback and special teamer Jaylon Jones is returning on a one-year deal, sources confirmed to the Sun-Times.
Safety Jonathan Owens agreed to sign a one-year contract to join the Colts, a source confirmed Friday. Owens, a backup and special teamer, is married to gymnast Simone Biles.
March 12
Former Bears safety Jaquan Brisker agreed to a one-year deal to play for his hometown Steelers.
Safety-turned-cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who played well over 10 games after joining the Bears midseason, is signing with the Bills.
Former Bears tight end Durham Smythe signed a one-year deal to rejoin former offensive coordinator Declan Doyle in Baltimore.
Guard Jordan McFadden, who started in the Bears' playoff loss to the Rams, is returning to the team on a one-year deal. McFadden played 13 games and started twice for the Chargers from 2023-24.
March 11
Former Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills will join the Bears' starting competition. He'll sign a one-year deal, a source confirmed to the Sun-Times. Wills is a former No. 10 overall pick who started 45 games for the Browns from 2020-22 before being limited by injury the next two years. He sat out last year because of a knee injury.
Former Bears safety Kevin Byard is signing a one-year deal with the Patriots to reunite with former Titans coach Mike Vrabel. The Bears said this offseason they'd hope to work out a deal with their team captain and Pro Bowl player but seemed to move on when they gave Coby Bryant a three-year, $40 million deal Monday.
The Bears agreed to re-sign backup safety Elijah Hicks on a one-year contract Wednesday, a source said. He was a seventh-round pick in general manager Ryan Poles' first draft class in 2022 and has played 61 games (15 starts) for the Bears.
Former Bears defensive lineman Chris Williams jumped to the Falcons, who now are run by general manager Ian Cunningham, on a one-year, $2.4 million deal, ESPN reported.
March 10
The Bears added to their defensive line depth Tuesday when they agreed to sign Kentavius Street to a one-year deal, a source confirmed to the Sun-Times. He's played for four teams in his seven years in the league.
Street spent 2022 playing for the Saints, where Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen served as head coach. He posted a career-high 3 ½ sacks that season and has only 10 ½ in his career. Pro Football Focus rated him as the 122nd-best run defender among the 224 eligible interior defensive linemen in their system last year. He spent a career-high 104 snaps over tackle in 2022, his year playing for Allen.
The Bears are signing former Bills defensive back Cam Lewis to a two-year deal, a source confirmed to the Sun-Times on Tuesday.
Like Coby Bryant, whom the Bears signed a day earlier, Lewis has experience at cornerback, safety and in the slot.
Lewis, who turns 29 next month, went to college at Buffalo and then spent the first six years of his career with the Bills. He started only 14 games, but 10 of those came over the past two years. Lewis played 38% of the Bills defensive snaps but was a special teams stalwart, playing on 51% of their kicking downs. He’s played at least 51% of his team’s special teams snaps in each of the past four years.
Former Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Jets, per NFL Network. Wright had five interceptions and started all but one game for the Bears last season, one year after the Vikings kept him on their practice squad for most of the season.
The Bears agreed to a one-year, $5.1 million deal with former Lions wide receiver and return man Kalif Raymond. He had 24 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown for the Lions last season.
March 9
Third-string quarterback Case Keenum, who was a key part of Caleb Williams’ development last year under coach Ben Johnson, is coming back to the Bears, a source confirmed. He’ll make as $5.5 million and as much as $8 million over two years, per ESPN.
Keenum hasn't thrown a pass since 2023 but has been part of the growth of both Williams and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud late in his career.
“He has been an integral part of what we’ve done,” Johnson said in January, days after the Bears’ emotional playoff win against the Packers. “He has been tremendous in terms of Caleb’s growth. That was really the thought process of bringing him in, is: the guy with skins on the wall, he has played in big games himself on a high level.
"He has won big games, he has lost big games ... it’s something that all these young players can really lean into, particularly in weeks like this where you come off an emotional win and yet you got to turn your sights on the next page pretty quickly."
After one of the best seasons of his career, former Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds got a big contract offer from the Giants. He agreed Monday to a three-year, $36 million deal, sources confirmed to the Sun-Times. It includes $24 million guaranteed.
Former Bears defensive end Dominique Robinson, a fifth-round pick in 2022, is signing with the Texans on a one-year, $4 milliion deal, ESPN reported.
The Bears will sign linebacker Devin Bush Jr. from the Browns to a three-year, $30 million deal after the departure of Edmunds, a source said. Bush, a former No. 10 overall pick, had three interceptions and two forced fumbles last season.
Former Colts defensive tackle Neville Gallimore is joining the Bears on a two-year, $12 million deal when the new league year opens, a source said. He played all 17 games in Indianapolis last season, including eight starts.
Bears Nation let’s do it!!!! Thank you for the opportunity. Let’s work! #BearDown 🐻
— Neville Gallimore (@Path2Greatwork) March 9, 2026
Linebacker D'Marco Jackson is returning to the Bears on a two-year, $7.5 million deal, a source confirmed. The Bears claimed Jackson on cut day during training camp, citing his experience in coordinator Dennis Allen's system while in New Orleans. He proved to be a solid special teams player and a worthy spot starter. In Week 15, he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after logging the first sack and interception of his career in a win against the Browns.
Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus is leaving the Bears for Atlanta, a source confirmed, agreeing to sign a contract with the Falcons. Zaccheaus spent one year in Chicago after helping the Commanders develop quarterback Jayden Daniels. In Chicago, he struggled with drops — his six were tied for 13th-most in the NFL — and by the end of the season was behind DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden on the Bears’ depth chart. He finished with 30 catches for 315 yards. In Atlanta, he’ll be reunited with new general manager Ian Cunningham, who was the Bears’ assistant GM last season. Zaccheaus played in Atlanta from 2019-22, catching passes from new president of football Matt Ryan, the former quarterback.
With none of their top four safeties under contract for this upcoming season, the Bears needed to move quickly to grab capable players at the position. They found that and more when they agreed to sign the Seahawks' Coby Bryant. He'll get a three-year, $40 million deal, per ESPN. Bryant, who had four interceptions last year, can play both free safety and strong safety. It's unclear if his additions means Kevin Byard's Bears tenure is over. Both sides had been optimistic about getting a deal done for Byard, who mostly played free safety.
March 8
Defensive end Daniel Hardy, who has been a special teams ace, agreed to sign a two-year deal worth as much as $6 million to return to the Bears, a source confirmed to the Sun-Times on Sunday. Hardy played only 5% of the Bears' defensive snaps last year but appeared in a whopping 78% of their kicking plays, totaling 22 tackles.
March 6
The day Drew Dalman put in his retirement paperwork, the Bears traded a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the Patriots for his replacement, center Garrett Bradbury. Bradbury, who started every game for the AFC champions last year, has one year left on a $9.6 million contract he signed last year after spending six years with the Vikings.
March 5
Needing to clear cap space and cognizant of their depth at wide receiver, the Bears traded DJ Moore and a fifth-round pick to the Bills for a second-round draft pick this year. Moore jad just 682 receiving yards on 50 catches last year, the worst numbers of his career. Had the Bears kept Moore, he would have cost a $24.5 million salary cap hit, the third-highest on the team.
Eight days after telling linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and his agent that they could seek a trade, the Bears told Edmunds they were cutting him. They saved $15 million in cap space in the process. Edmunds had four interceptions in 13 games last year, the second-most among all NFL linebackers.
March 3
Center Drew Dalman, who played every snap and reached the Pro Bowl in his first year with the Bears, told the team he planned to retire after just five years in the NFL. He filed his retirement paperwork three days later.
