Free agency is right around the corner and with the Chicago Bears currently about $5 million over the projected salary cap, the team will have to make some strategic moves before even thinking about acquiring new talent.

It’s not a hard process by any means and the Bears can easily clear up some space by cutting contracts, reaching new extensions, and restructuring existing contracts to give the team plenty of cash to go shopping on the open market.

How aggressive the Bears plan to be remains to be seen but plenty of free agents make sense to come to Chicago and be significant upgrades over the talent already in the building. The latest free agent predictions and rankings from Greg Auman of FOX Sports had the Bears landing four Top-100 free agents, including three players to help out defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

FOX Sports predicts four free agent targets for the Chicago Bears this offseason

DE Trey Hendrickson – FOX Sports’ No. 4 ranked free agent

The idea of adding the former NFL sack leader is an intoxicating possibility for the Bears this offseason but it’s not going to be easy. Hendrickson seems destined to hit the market, which would make it easier to acquire him compared to another heavily discussed target in Maxx Crosby. But, Hendrickson’s still going to be a tough pill to swallow price-wise and is on the wrong side of 30.

The Bears are in dire need of some juice on the defensive line and adding a player of Hendrickson’s caliber can take the unit to a whole new level. It helps that he has experience in Allen’s scheme after working together for four years in New Orleans. There’s a lot of pros and cons to consider when adding a guy like that to the building.

S Kevin Byard III – FOX Sports’ No. 44 ranked free agent

FOX seems to be slightly higher on Kevin Byard’s free agent outlook than ESPN, who didn’t even include the All Pro safety in their Top-50 rankings. Age is certainly a concern for some teams when looking at Byard as a free agent option but the Bears should have no problem bringing him back.

Byard is still playing at an elite-level and offers a lot of leadership to the locker room in Chicago. Both sides are interest in sticking together and it should be something that gets worked out soon.

LB Demario Davis – FOX Sports’ No. 60 ranked free agent

Another reunion for Dennis Allen from his time with the Saints. New Orleans’ veteran leader is open to finding a new home this offseason and Allen has already shown previous interest in adding some of his former players to the roster in Chicago such as C.J. Gardner-Johnson and D’Marco Jackson.

Davis will be entering his 15th NFL season and will be 37-years-old this season, so there is some concern there. But, he also is coming off a season in which he played all 17 games and totaled 143 tackles. With Tremaine Edmunds highly-likely to get cut, the Bears could be in the market for a starting linebacker and Davis is an option I’ve already mentioned as well to watch out for.

OT Cam Robinson – FOX Sports’ No. 85 ranked free agent

I can understand the logic here. Following Ozzy Trapilo’s patellar tendon injury, the Bears are back in the market for a starting left tackle going into the 2026 season, at least until Trapilo is able to return. Right now, the Bears only have three healthy offensive tackles on the roster in right tackle Darnell Wright, Theo Benedet, and Kiran Amegadjie.

Benedet has starting experience from this past season but the Bears would benefit from adding some competition this offseason. Cam Robinson is another veteran player who can offer that with 114 starts under his belt, but would be costly after playing on a one-year, $12 million deal in 2025.

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