NFL free agency is upon us, and the Chicago Bears are expected to be active as general manager Ryan Poles retools arguably the league’s worst roster.
The negotiation window opens Monday at 11 a.m. CT, where teams can begin discussing deals with agents. While any signings won’t be official until the start of the new league year Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT, we should soon learn about some new Bears joining the roster.
Pro Football Focus‘ Arjun Menon and Brad Spielberger predicted landing spots for the top 100 free agents, and Chicago manages to land four of those players to help shore up some of their biggest weaknesses.
Here’s a look:
DT Javon Hargrave
The Bears are in need of a disruptive three-technique to power Matt Eberflus’ defense, and Javon Hargrave would certainly fit the bill. PFF believes Chicago will land the former Eagles defender, who’s listed as their third-best free agent on the market.
Hargrave may be the Eagles’ top offseason priority as they continue to emphasize rostering several quality interior defensive linemen. He is a perfect pairing next to 2022 first-round nose tackle Jordan Davis. Should Hargrave make it to unrestricted free agency, the Bears almost certainly will be a suitor, with their interior defensive line earning a 36.3 grade in 2022, more than five points worse than any other interior defensive line in the NFL.
RT Mike McGlinchey
The Bears have needs across the offensive line, but especially at right tackle. There’s been a lot of smoke around Mike McGlinchey, listed as PFF’s 11th-best free agent, as a potential target for Chicago.
The Bears tried going with a stop-gap option at right tackle last season by signing veteran Riley Reiff, but he endured an injury-plagued season and was also average when on the field. Adding McGlinchey to this line would help give the Bears a long-term solution at right tackle, forming a promising side of the offensive line with Teven Jenkins.
In his career, McGlinchey has mostly been a better run blocker than pass blocker, and while there is a chance that the Bears look to air it out more with better receivers around Justin Fields, they will still try to dominate on the ground with Fields’ mobility, which plays into McGlinchey’s strengths as a blocker.
LB Bobby Okereke
Jack Sanborn is the only starting linebacker on the roster, so linebacker is a big need this offseason. Bobby Okereke, PFF’s 39th-best free agent, has ties to Eberflus’ time with the Colts, which makes him a great fit in Chicago.
Okereke reunites with his former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator in Bears head coach Matt Eberflus after Chicago balked at former first-round pick linebacker Roquan Smith’s asking price and traded him to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline.
Okereke earned a career-high 79.3 run-defense grade in 2022, with his 31 run-defense stops tying for 13th.
EDGE Justin Houston
The Bears also have a huge need at edge rusher, where Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson are the only viable options on the roster. Adding a veteran like Justin Houston, who’s PFF’s 68th-best free agent, would be a step in the right direction for bolstering this pass rush.
Chicago is overhauling effectively its entire defensive line, presumably looking to get younger, but it always helps to have a wily vet — one with connections to both the general manager and head coach from prior stops in Kansas City and Indianapolis.
Houston’s 18.4% pass-rush win rate and 14.6% pressure percentage in 2022 were both top-25 marks among edge defenders, and he managed to add 9.5 sacks to his total, which brings him to 111.5 for his career, a top-40 mark all time. For a team looking for a menace on passing downs, Houston is still that guy entering his age-34 season.
