Chicago Bears predicted to sign veteran wide receiver during second wave of free agency
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has taken a conservative approach to free agency in his first offseason leading the historic franchise. Poles hasn't made any splash signings, but he's addressed several roster needs via frugal moves that won't negatively impact the team's ability to make moves in future offseasons. The Bears entered the offseason […]
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has taken a conservative approach to free agency in his first offseason leading the historic franchise.
Poles hasn't made any splash signings, but he's addressed several roster needs via frugal moves that won't negatively impact the team's ability to make moves in future offseasons.
The Bears entered the offseason badly needing help at the wide receiver position. Allen Robinson left Chicago for the Los Angeles Rams, leaving Darnell Mooney as the Bears' only starting wide receiver.
Poles signed wide receiver Byron Pringle to a one-year deal, which was a wise move. But the Bears could still use a vertical threat for quarterback Justin Fields.
The Athletic predicted on Wednesday that Fields will get his vertical threat during the second wave of free agency.
They have Chicago signing free agent wide receiver Marquez Valdez-Scantling.
The Bears signed Byron Pringle, but they need to add speed at wide receiver to take advantage of Justin Fields’ ability to push the ball downfield. Valdes-Scantling is coming off a season in which he had 26 catches for 430 yards in 11 games for the Packers. In 2020, Valdes-Scantling hauled in 33 catches for 690 yards and six touchdowns. He offers a very specific role as a field-stretching deep threat. That type of profile would make sense in Chicago.
This would be another smart financial move by Poles. The latest contract projection for Valdez-Scantling was for a two-year deal worth $20 million.
The Bears have actually been connected to Valdez-Scantling since early in the offseason. That's partially due to the connection between Valdez-Scantling and Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who was the Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach for three seasons (Valdez-Scantling was in Green Bay during that entire time).
The fact Chicago hasn't signed him yet tells us that Poles is probably waiting on the price to drop a bit.
Valdez-Scantling didn't have eye-popping numbers with the Packers — his best season was in 2020 when he caught 33 passes for 690 yards and six touchdowns. But he would give Fields a nice deep threat without sacrificing too much future salary-cap space.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
