The Chicago Bears are going to be one of the NFL’s most fascinating teams this offseason, as they hold the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft and are expected to take Caleb Williams.
If they do that, they will also likely trade Justin Fields, sending the young quarterback to a new team where he can get a fresh start. The alternative is to trade the top pick and move back in the Draft, keeping Fields and looking to load up around him, but few expect that to happen as they would have to fully invest in Fields long-term and drafting Williams resets the clock on paying a quarterback big money.
The Bears also have some serious cap space to fill out their roster, although they ate into that some to keep young star corner Jaylon Johnson around long-term. Their first move of free agency provides an indicator of what they see as important going forward, trying to create some balance offensively to take pressure off their likely new rookie QB. On Monday, the Bears made one of the first moves of NFL free agency in terms of signing a player from an outside team, as they brought running back D’Andre Swift over from the Eagles on a three-year deal (with two of the years effectively guaranteed).
The #Bears are expected to sign former #Eagles starting RB D’Andre Swift as their new starting running back, per me and @MikeGarafolo.
He gets a 3-year, $24M deal. pic.twitter.com/NIBaMOuBJi
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2024
Bears are giving D’Andre Swift a three-year, $24 million deal, including $15.3 million guaranteed, per his agent Trevon Smith at Athletes First.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
Swift had a breakout year in Philly, rushing for over 1,000 yards and being the most reliable back in the Eagles rotation. The Bears want that kind of reliability alongside Williams (or Fields, if they went that route) and Swift has also proven to be a productive receiver out of the backfield over his career in Philadelphia and Detroit.
