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Why haven’t the Bears signed more free agents? They have a bunch of needs they seemingly could fill and are just sitting back and doing nothing. It’s very frustrating as a fan.
I’ve addressed this issue previously in “Chalk Talk” and apologize to those of you who are tired of reading about it. But I continue to receive emails asking why the Bears haven’t been more active in free agency. Now, we all know that the Bears believe first and foremost in rewarding their own players, and they’ve done that in re-signing Pro Bowlers Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Devin Hester and Robbie Gould as well as Charles Tillman, Nate Vasher and Desmond Clark to new deals. But here’s the thing about this year’s free agent crop: There’s not a whole lot there. NFL teams simply are not allowing their quality players to reach the open market. This year, a record 14 players received franchise tags and several more re-signed with their original clubs before becoming free agents. As far as the Bears, they’ve actually signed two players in Frank Omiyale and Josh Bullocks who could start this season. Do you realize that 22 other NFL teams have signed two or less unrestricted free agents? Or that the Panthers, Steelers and Colts haven’t added a single free agent that was on another team’s roster last season? Have you ever heard of Anthony Smith? He’s the only free agent signed by the Packers, who are trying to rebound from a disappointing 6-10 season. Smith, by the way, wasn’t even on the unrestricted market. He was a restricted free agent who was not tendered a contract by the Steelers. Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei said it best when he cautioned against overspending in free agency Wednesday, writing: “Free agency usually is more about creating good feelings—look at what we did!—than it is about actually improving your team ... It is better to feel good about your team the first week in February than it is the second week in March.” Amen to that.
I’ve addressed this issue previously in “Chalk Talk” and apologize to those of you who are tired of reading about it. But I continue to receive emails asking why the Bears haven’t been more active in free agency. Now, we all know that the Bears believe first and foremost in rewarding their own players, and they’ve done that in re-signing Pro Bowlers Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Devin Hester and Robbie Gould as well as Charles Tillman, Nate Vasher and Desmond Clark to new deals. But here’s the thing about this year’s free agent crop: There’s not a whole lot there. NFL teams simply are not allowing their quality players to reach the open market. This year, a record 14 players received franchise tags and several more re-signed with their original clubs before becoming free agents. As far as the Bears, they’ve actually signed two players in Frank Omiyale and Josh Bullocks who could start this season. Do you realize that 22 other NFL teams have signed two or less unrestricted free agents? Or that the Panthers, Steelers and Colts haven’t added a single free agent that was on another team’s roster last season? Have you ever heard of Anthony Smith? He’s the only free agent signed by the Packers, who are trying to rebound from a disappointing 6-10 season. Smith, by the way, wasn’t even on the unrestricted market. He was a restricted free agent who was not tendered a contract by the Steelers. Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei said it best when he cautioned against overspending in free agency Wednesday, writing: “Free agency usually is more about creating good feelings—look at what we did!—than it is about actually improving your team ... It is better to feel good about your team the first week in February than it is the second week in March.” Amen to that.
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