The season came to an end for the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but the work of an NFL franchise never stops. At some point soon, the Bears will sign several players to reserve/futures contracts.
The 2026 league year opens on March 11, at which time free agency officially begins; however, the early negotiating period starts on March 9.
Here are all the Bears’ upcoming free agents.
List courtesy of Over The Cap.
Unrestricted Free Agents
OFFENSE
Case Keenum, QB
Durham Smythe, TE
Travis Homer, RB
Olamide Zaccheaus, WR
Devin Duvernay, WR
Braxton Jones, LT
Ryan Bates, OL*
SPECIAL TEAMS
Scott Daly, LS
DEFENSE
Jaquan Brisker, S
Kevin Byard, S
Elijah Hicks, S
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jr., S
Jonathan Owens, S
D’Marco Jackson, LB
Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB
Nahshon Wright, CB
Jaylon Jones, CB
Nick McCloud, CB
Chris Williams, DT
Andrew Billings, DT
Dominique Robinson, DE
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, DE*
Unrestricted free agents are players with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract. They are free to negotiate and sign with any team once free agency begins. The Bears can negotiate with them before they hit free agency.
A season is considered accrued if the player was (or should have been) on full-play status for at least six regular-season games in a given season.
*Over the Cap lists both Bates and Tryon-Shoyinka as Void free agents, because there are void years on each contract. They have Bates with voids through the 2027 season, however, with no money owed. Tryon-Shoyinka has voids through 2029 with $576,000 owed.
Restricted Free Agents
Jordan McFadden, OL
Daniel Hardy, DE/LB
Restricted free agents are players with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. They can negotiate and sign a new deal with any team, but the Bears can offer them a qualifying “tender” offer, which would allow them to match the contract.
Exclusive Rights Free Agents
Theo Benedet, OL
An exclusive free agent is a player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If the Bears offer Benedet a one-year deal at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), he cannot negotiate with other teams.
Street Free Agents
Qadir Ismail, WR
Ricky Stromberg, OL
Ty Summers, LB
Street free agents are out of contract right now and can sign with any team immediately. All three of these players ended the season on the Bears’ practice squad injured reserve list.
