Bears Free Agent Profile: Devin Duvernay’s impact went beyond the stat sheet and he should be a value re-signing for Chicago
Not many people appreciated the impact Devin Duvernay had for the Chicago Bears last season.
The NFL free agency window is getting closer and closer and the Chicago Bears are set to be an exciting team to watch when the madness begins. Before it gets to that point, the Bears have to first weigh the pros and cons of re-signing the 22 players set to become unrestricted free agents.
Not every player will be able to return and some are expected to be out of the Bears’ price range entirely. Other players are expected to have solid on the open market that the Bears should consider bringing back, including one player many overlooked this past season.
Devin Duvernay
Position: Primary returner / wide receiver
Age for 2026 Season: 28
Incoming NFL year: 7
Previous AAV: $1,170,000
The Bears found an absolute steal on the open market last March by bringing in Devin Duvernay after the first big waves of free agency. Prior to joining Chicago, Duvernay was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and first-team All Pro with the Baltimore Ravens from 2020-2023. In 2024, Duvernay signed a two-year, $8.5 million deal with Jacksonville Jaguars but was released after one season.
The Bears decided to bring Duvernay in on a very friendly deal and he immediately won the starting job as the team’s primary return man. Duvernay finished the season ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,207 kick return yards and eighth in the NFL with 328 punt return yards.
While he never broke the big one for a touchdown, his returns proved to be game-changing throughout the season. Duvernay’s biggest return came in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings when he had a 56-yard kick return with under a minute to play to give the offense a short field to eventually kick the game-winning field goal. That’s the kind of impact a great returner can have and one the Bears should look to keep in the building.
Contract History and Projection
The going rate for a starting returner in the NFL is not as lucrative as you might imagine, despite the value these players bring to a team. There is one exception and that player is KaVontae Turpin, who’s coming off his third Pro Bowl season and playing on a three-year, $13.5 million contract. That’s not a price the Bears, nor Duvernay, should expect. Here’s more reasonable examples signed last year:
- Jamal Agnew: one-year, $2.5 million
- Kene Nwangwu: one-year, $1.44 million
- Mecole Hardman: one-year, $1.5 million contract
These three contracts go to show the kind of value the Bears got from Duvernay last year. After the season Duvernay had with the Bears, it’s likely to see him get into the $2-3 million range on his next contract in free agency.
Prediction
Duvernay is one of the five free agents I listed that the Bears absolutely have to re-sign this offseason. Richard Hightower is proven as one of the top special teams coaches in the league and someone Duvernay should be interested in continuing to play for.
Bringing him back on a one-year deal in that $2-3 million range is still great value for the kind of player he can be. And if everything works out as perfect as possible, he joins Devin Hester as the next “Devin” to house a kickoff in the Super Bowl next season.
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