The 2025 free agency frenzy is less than an hour away from kicking off with the start of the legal tampering window opening up.

At 12:00 on Monday, March 10th, teams will be allow to begin speaking with pending free agents from other teams and sending out potential offers.

But, we all know how this goes behind the scenes. Communication (although illegally) has already started considering deals will be announced as soon as the window opens.

It's important to remember, however, that those deals aren't official until the new league year begins on Wednesday, March 12th. But, for the most part, deals reported as soon as 12:00 on Monday usually hold true.

The Chicago Bears, for example, struck first last offseason landing running back D'Andre Swift on a multi-year deal as soon as the legal tampering window opened.

However, we're already seeing some deals going down already today, but those deals are pending free agents re-signing with their former team or players that were cut (such as Davante Adams) getting a head start on the action.

These re-signing deals suck for other teams wanting to negotiate with top free agents before they're plucked from the market, and the Bears now know how that feels after watching one of their top free agents targets come off the board minutes before the legal tampering period opened up.

Khalil Mack Re-Signs With Chargers On  1-Year, $18 Million Deal

The Los Angeles Chargers took a top edge rusher off the free agent market, agreeing to a one-year, $18 million fully guaranteed deal to bring back future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack. Mack was expected to gain significant interest on the open market, but instead returns to L.A.

The Bears were one of the front runners (and even the favorites on some sportsbooks) to reunite with Mack, who spent four seasons in Chicago from 2018-2021 before getting traded to the Chargers.

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A reunion seemed to be in the best interest for both parties. The Bears are expected to heavily pursue another top pass rusher to pair with Montez Sweat, and ideally one who was an older veteran. Meanwhile, Mack wanted to play out the final stretch of his career with a familiar organization that wouldn't require him to be a star.

Ultimately, Mack made his decision before even hearing out an offer from Chicago, opting to stay with the Chargers for likely one final season.

What does this mean for the Bears in free agency? The team will still be targeting top edge rushers on the market such as Dayo Odeyingbo, Joey Bosa, or Josh Sweat. 

Losing out on Mack could even put the fire under general manager Ryan Poles to make a big swing such as trading for someone like Trey Hendrickson from the Cincinnati Bengals or Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys.

Whatever path the Bears take, many expect a top pass rusher to land in Chicago at some point today.

Bears 2025 Free Agency Tracker: Keeping tabs on all the new additions plus who’s leaving, as Ryan Poles attempts to overhaul the roster in Chicago

Tracking every move made by the Bears.