3 BEST REMAINING FREE AGENTS THE BEARS CAN STILL SIGN AFTER THE DRAFT
The Chicago Bears had a monster of a 2024 NFL Draft with the selections of quarterback Caleb Williams (1st overall) and wide receiver Rome Odunze (9th overall). The Bears are moving on from the Justin Fields era and starting fresh with Williams under center, but the work for general manager Ryan Poles is not yet complete.
Even though Poles has been one of the most active general managers in the entire NFL over the last few seasons in free agency, the NFL Draft, and the trade market, he's got a chance to do even a little more tinkering to get this roster ready to compete for the NFC North title in 2024.
What prominent free agents are still out there and could be of interest to the Bears?
1. Carl Lawson, DE/EDGE
At this stage of the offseason, a player like Carl Lawson might be one of the best risk/reward propositions on the NFL free agency market. Lawson is 28 this season and is coming off of a disappointing year in which he only appeared in six games due to injury. And injuries have been the unfortunate hindrance to Lawson carving out what could otherwise be a wildly productive career as a full-time pass rusher in the NFL.
He had a stretch of seasons from 2019-22 in which he had 22, 32, and 24 quarterback hits (missed the 2021 season), proving he can get after the quarterback consistently.
We haven't seen him reach the same level of productivity in terms of sacks that he had in his rookie year (8.5) but he had 7.0 sacks for the Jets in his last fully healthy season (2022).
2. Shaq Lawson, EDGE
When it comes to adding free agents late in the game, it's never a bad idea to start looking around at players who might have connections to the coaching staff one way or another. That certainly would apply to someone like Shaq Lawson, who has spent the entirety of his NFL career in the AFC East, but most of which with the Buffalo Bills.
And while with the Bills, Lawson played for current Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington, who was previously the assistant head coach and defensive line coach in Buffalo.
So if anyone knows Shaq Lawson well, it's Washington.
That familiarity could pay dividends for both Lawson and the Bears as he remains available this offseason after racking up 7 QB hits on 321 defensive snaps for the Bills last year. There was a point in Lawson's career where he was more of a full-time player and consistent threat off the edge, but the former first-rounder has been a bit of a disappointment given his NFL Draft status (19th overall pick in 2016).
Even so, Lawson is a veteran who has stuck around for a long while, and he could provide some depth at a key position for the Chicago Bears in 2024.
3. Dalton Risner, OL
You can never have too much offensive line depth in the NFL, especially when you're talking about protecting a rookie quarterback. The Chicago Bears should be entering this offseason program being hyper-critical of the offensive line and whether or not the depth they feature right now is capable of adequately keeping Caleb Williams upright.
We saw enough of Williams sprinting around last year at USC. The Bears need to make sure his transition to the NFL involves a lot less "creating" and a lot more operating out of comfortability.
Not that one signing can accomplish that, but adding a veteran like Dalton Risner would help the Bears greatly at this point. Risner has been strictly a left guard in the NFL but he has positional flexibility dating back to his time at Kansas State. And last season, Risner played exceptionally well for the Minnesota Vikings.
Frankly, it's a bit shocking he hasn't been signed up to this point. The former second-round pick out of Kansas State didn't allow a sack in his time with the Vikings last year, and could be an option at any of the interior spots for the Bears.
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This article was originally published on dawindycity.com as 3 Best Remaining Free Agents the Bears Can Still Sign After the Draft.
2024-05-06T15:35:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd