Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles had a busy week — and free agency hasn’t even started.

The fireworks will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, when the NFL’s negotiating period opens. Any contracts or trades agreed to can’t become official until the new league year begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Poles spent this past week positioning the Bears for more flexibility. Notably, the team agreed to trade wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills. Moore was set to be the highest-paid player on the team in 2026 at $28.5 million. Instead, the trade saved the Bears $16.5 million against the salary cap that they can spend elsewhere.

Center Drew Dalman’s surprise retirement will save the team at least $10 million. And on Friday the Bears officially released veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, saving an additional $15 million.

Also on Friday, the Bears swung a trade with the New England Patriots for veteran center Garrett Bradbury. In all, that leaves the Bears with a new starting center and approximately $27 million in salary-cap space heading into free agency.

They were big spenders in free agency over the past few years — signing such free agents as Edmunds, Dalman, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and running back D’Andre Swift. But that was largely because they had cap space to spend.

So while the Bears now have some wiggle room to be active, they also have multiple positions of need to fill. Here are three priorities as they head into a busy week.

Safety

Colts safety Nick Cross (20) celebrates after intercepting a pass against the Chargers on Oct. 19, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News)

All-Pro Kevin Byard III is a free agent, as are the other three safeties on the 2025 Bears roster: Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks. Byard led the NFL last season with seven interceptions. Although he will be 33 when next season begins, he never has missed a game in 10 NFL seasons.

The Bears signed Byard to a two-year, $15 million contract in March 2024, but he could be in line to earn a bigger payday this time. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get north of $10 million per year.

“Kevin’s a special player,” Poles said days after the season ended. “I have no problem saying that’s a player that we would like to have back. But, again, when you add the other safeties into that mix and all the other decisions we have across the roster, with cap restraints and things like that, it’ll be a challenge.”

With a blank slate at safety, the Bears likely will attack the position in multiple ways via free agency and the draft. They’ll probably want at least one veteran starter.

If they’re unable to re-sign Byard, they could shift to another veteran in free agency. The Indianapolis Colts’ Nick Cross could be one option who shouldn’t cost what Byard will command. Cross played in 67 games for the Colts over the last four seasons and had four interceptions over the last two years as a starter.

Pairing a veteran with a draft pick in the starting lineup and filling out the backup spots with lower-priced free agents could be a reasonable path forward at the position.

Defensive line

Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson is introduced before a game against the Jets on Oct. 26, 2025, in Cincinnati. (Kareem Elgazzar/AP)

The Bears pass rush ranked 27th in pressure rate last season. They definitely will be looking to improve on that figure. End Dominique Robinson and tackle Andrew Billings are set to hit free agency, leaving a pair of openings. Odeyingbo and 2025 second-round pick Shemar Turner are coming off major injuries.

Even so, the Bears don’t figure to be big spenders when it comes to an edge rusher. Top edge rushers come with huge price tags, and the Bears already have a lot of money tied up in Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat.

Yes, Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson is hitting the open market. He had 17½ sacks in both 2023 and 2024 before totaling only four in an injury-shortened 2025. But Hendrickson will command big money, possibly $30 million per year.

Given the asking price and what he went for, it was not a huge surprise that the Bears sat out the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes. The Baltimore Ravens agreed to trade two first-round picks for the Las Vegas Raiders star pass rusher Friday night.

Poles since day one has said he wants to build sustainable success through the draft, and it’s difficult to do that without your first-round picks.

The Bears could be inclined to seek a defensive tackle in free agency and fill out the depth chart at end in the draft because the position is considered deep in talent this year. Sweat totaled 10 sacks last season, and Austin Booker came on strong at the end of the year after missing the first half with a knee injury.

Linebacker

Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson (48) tackles Browns wide receiver Gage Larvadain on Dec. 14, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

The Bradbury trade filled the brief void at center. The seven-year veteran has been durable, appearing in all 17 games during each of the last two seasons. Bradbury and All-Pro guard Joe Thuney were college teammates at N.C. State, so there is familiarity there.

With that, center is no longer a need heading into free agency. The Bears never seemed likely to go for Baltimore Ravens impending free agent Tyler Linderbaum because of the price.

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A three-time Pro Bowl pick who will be just 26 next season, Linderbaum is seeking to reset the center market, which would mean something north of $18 million per year. Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said at the combine that the franchise offered him “a market-setting” contract ahead of free agency.

Left tackle remains a need, too, after Ozzy Trapilo’s late-season knee injury. But the Bears do still have Theo Benedet as a viable starting option.

Perhaps a bigger need, especially after releasing Edmunds, is at linebacker. T.J. Edwards is coming off a broken left fibula suffered in the wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers in January. The hope is he’ll be ready to go for next season, but that remains to be seen.

The Bears could make a push to re-sign linebacker D’Marco Jackson, who filled in for Edmunds when he missed four games late in the season with an injury. Jackson even earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in mid-December after recording an interception and a sack against the Cleveland Browns. He has extensive experience in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s system after playing the previous two years in New Orleans.

Whether it’s Jackson or somebody else, the Bears could take a similar approach to safety and look to sign a veteran and address the position in the draft.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/08/chicago-bears-free-agency-top-needs/