The Chicago Bears signed 14 players to futures contracts for the 2026 season on Tuesday. These players will be on the 90-man roster heading into the new league year in March.

The Bears signed the following players to futures contracts:

WR Maurice Alexander
RB Brittain Brown
TE Stephen Carlson
LS Luke Elkin
CB Dallis Flowers
DE Jonathan Garvin
LB Dominique Hampton
G Kyle Hergel
TE Nikola Kalinic
CB Dontae Manning
DE Jeremiah Martin
S Gervarrius Owens
WR J.P. Richardson
LB Nephi Sewell

The majority of those players were on the Bears practice squad for the 2025 season. Sewell comes to Chicago after spending the season on the New Orleans Saints practice squad. His brother Noah Sewell has been with the Bears since 2023.

Elkin, an undrafted rookie long snapper out of Iowa in 2025, went through training camp with the Bears last summer but didn’t make the 53-man roster. He most recently was on the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad.

The Bears called up Brown to the active roster for three games during the 2025 season. He scored his first career touchdown on Nov. 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Futures contracts can be given to players who were not on the 53-man roster. They typically are at the league’s minimum salary and don’t count against the salary cap until the new league year begins in March.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/20/chicago-bears-futures-contracts-2026/