Bears' free agency plans get hit with a bucket of cold water after expected top target was taken off the market, but it's not the end of the world
The Chicago Bears made it crystal clear that they intend to be aggressive this offseason in hopes of rebuilding the offensive line after hearing from both general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson earlier in the week.And those plans took a massive hit on Thursday with sudden news regarding one of the team's […]
The Chicago Bears made it crystal clear that they intend to be aggressive this offseason in hopes of rebuilding the offensive line after hearing from both general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson earlier in the week.
And those plans took a massive hit on Thursday with sudden news regarding one of the team's top expected targets previously expected to hit the market.
Right guard Trey Smith will not be hitting free agency. Instead, the Kansas City Chiefs showed they were more willing to do what it takes to keep him by electing to franchise tag their pending free agent, according to Jordan Schultz.
This is massive news for two reasons. First, no one expected the Chiefs to honestly go this route. By franchise tagging Trey Smith, Smith now becomes the highest-paid guard in NFL history, before even landing an actual extension, which will happen soon.
The franchise tag price for any offensive lineman is expected to be around $24 million, based on the Top-5 averages of all offensive lineman. Since tackles dominate the market at the position, Smith is essentially now making Top-5 tackle money as a guard, Smith's one-year tag will now exceed Landon Dickerson's $21 million per year salary, which used to be the highest for an offensive guard.
The second reason why this is big is because this all but puts any other team, including the Bears, out of the Trey Smith hunt. No other team will be willing to pay that price, plus trade draft picks in order to acquire Smith, and the Chiefs clearly have no interest in letting him leave the building.
Pivot Plans For The Bears
After this news, the Bears now go back to the drawing board when it comes to finding another option at the position. The top available right guards on the market now include Mekhi Becton, Kevin Zeitler, and Will Fries.
All three players are still viable options for the Bears and all three are very different from each other in terms of what type of player the Bears could add.
Let's start with Becton, the enormous former tackle who reclaimed his career at guard with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Super Bowl Champs would ideally like to have Becton back but have a long list of pending free agents to weigh. If he hits the market, the Bears could add a rare mix of size and power next to right tackle Darnell Wright for much less than Smith would have cost.
As for Zeitler, he's someone who's already familiar with working under head coach Ben Johnson after starting 16 games for the Lions in 2024. Again, Detroit would love to have this guy back too. The Lions signed Zeitler to a one-year, $6 million deal. In that one season, he played 1,047 total snaps, but allowed five sacks and 18 pressures.
The third option on the list should be Will Fries, who would be another bargain addition. Fries is coming off a serious right tibia injury in 2024, but was looking like one of the best interior protectors prior to the injury. As a full-time starter in 2023, he started all 17 games, allowing four sacks and 30 total pressures.
Losing out on Smith isn't the end of the world. The Bears have other options and not having to pay Smith top of the market money frees up the team to make even more moves in free agency. Because they're going to need to add more than one piece.
Bears Ryan Poles made it clear he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to fix the team’s biggest need going into free agency
Seems like they plan to be big spenders.
