The talk of the town remains whether the Bears should draft a quarterback like Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick this April, or keep Justin Fields and trade the No. 1 pick for a second year in a row.
But before the Bears turn in their card on draft night, they’ll begin their free agency negotiations. And with a projected $50 million to spend and plenty of holes to fill on the roster, there’s a good chance they’ll be active when the market opens.
Last week we went over some defensive players who could be on GM Ryan Poles’ wishlist, if they don’t sign extensions or get tagged by their respective teams. Now let’s take a look at the offensive side of the ball.
NICK ALLEGRETTI – CHIEFS BACKUP INTERIOR LINEMAN
Not every free agent signing has to be a big splash to make a big impact for a team. Allegretti might not hit the market, since he’s proven his worth to the Chiefs as the next man up on their interior OL, but if he does he could help the Bears. Injuries happen on the OL. Starters Teven Jenkins, Nate Jones and Lucas Patrick all missed time due to injury and the Bears backups weren’t always up to snuff. Ja’Tyre Carter has yet to develop into a convincing option after the Bears selected him with a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft, and the Bears will need to replace what Cody Whitehair brought to the team as a versatile, reliable player.
Allegretti proved he’s a warrior by playing through a torn UCL in the Super Bowl. He’s also a Certified Local Guy from Frankfort, and we know Poles loves bringing in Local Guys.
MARQUISE “HOLLYWOOD” BROWN – CARDINALS WIDE RECEIVER
Brown hasn’t been in the spotlight as much as one would expect for a player who goes by Hollywood, but if the Bears draft a promising rookie and don’t re-sign Darnell Mooney, he could be a solid veteran to add to the mix.
Brown is a former first-round draft pick who started his career in Baltimore, but never put together a massive season due to the Ravens’ run-heavy offense. The Ravens ended up trading Brown and a third-round pick to the Cardinals in exchange for a first-round pick, and he enjoyed some success in a reunion with his college QB teammate, Kyler Murray. But injuries and ineffectiveness across the entire Cardinals offense over the past two seasons dragged his numbers down. Still, he’s a sure-handed receiver who finds a way to score. In 72 career games, Brown has 313 catches for 3,644 yards and 28 touchdowns.
MIKE EVANS – BUCCANEERS WIDE RECEIVER
It feels unlikely that the Buccaneers would let Evans walk in free agency, but they have many big roster decisions to make. Evans, quarterback Baker Mayfield and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. are all candidates for a big contract, or the franchise tag. If Evans ends up being an odd man out, he could be a guy to instantly raise the profile of the offense.
People love to talk about how he’s crossed the 1,000-yard mark in every single season of his 10-year career, and rightfully so. That’s by far the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career (Randy Moss is in second with six-consecutive seasons). The 10 seasons are tied with Moss for most 1,000-yard campaigns over an entire career, trailing only Jerry Rice’s 14 seasons. Evans has also put up major points in addition to racking up major yards. He has 94 career TDs and led the NFL last season with 13.
The way he’s done it is equally impressive. Evans hasn’t had the luxury of working primarily with Hall of Fame QBs like Rice had in Joe Montana and Steve Young. Evans has worked with the likes of Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick in addition to his two seasons with Tom Brady. It doesn’t matter who’s throwing the ball, Evans is going to produce.
Finally, Evans (6’5”, 230 pounds) is the perfect complement to DJ Moore (5’11”, 210 pounds). He would give the Bears quarterback a big target for 50/50 balls down the field and knows how to…
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