3 Bears players who won’t be back for the 2023 season

N’Keal Harry was a worthwhile gamble for the Bears but it’s been a bust

Speaking of position groups that need a serious overhaul, the only area more problematic than the offensive line for the Bears is probably the wide receiver group. Things were so desperate with the Chicago pass-catchers that they felt it necessary to take a roll of the dice in bringing in former Patriots first-round pick N’Keal Harry to see if they could mine anything from him.

There’s no faulting the organization from making that move as they had to try whatever they could, but suffice it to say that the gamble on Harry hasn’t worked out. Between injuries and a lack of performance, the Arizona State product has been unable to shed his bust label as he has just five receptions on six targets for 93 yards and one touchdown this season with Chicago.

Again utilizing the team’s ample cap space and abundant draft capital, the Bears need to find receivers who can be long-term weapons for Fields in the passing offense as their addressing the offensive line also gives him more time to find these weapons. Harry should not be a part of that, however.

As he’s set to be a free agent this offseason, this is almost a no-brainer. With the state of the team coming into this season, it made complete sense to see if there was something with Harry that was just missing in New England. What’s missing, however, is the ability to be a consistently productive NFL wide receiver, so as the Bears start to shape the future of the roster, not making Harry part of that is an easy decision.