4 free agents the Chicago Bears should happily let leave

Chicago Bears, NFL Free Agency (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears, NFL Free Agency (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Bears, Riley Reiff
Chicago Bears, Riley Reiff (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) /

Free agents the Chicago Bears should happily let leave: Riley Reiff, OT

This one is easy. Riley Reiff may have looked the part while protecting Joe Burrow, but that magic soon faded once he got to Chicago. He returned to the same type of player he was back in Minnesota, whom Vikings fans remember well.

Reiff has always been average at best, and that’s not something the Bears can keep around. This is a team that needs massive upgrades at key positions, and that includes tackle. Last year’s rookie fifth-round pick Braxton Jones will likely have the only locked-and-loaded starting position going into 2023, maybe outside of Cody Whitehair if he’s retained.

The other tackle position has to be either a top-tier free agent signing or a rookie taken in the top three rounds, period. Reiff cannot be brought back. The 34-year-old is past any point of playing contributing football, and especially in an offense with a mobile quarterback, they have to get Fields protected better.

The tackle position is a great one in this year’s free agency class, too, so the Bears will have a good amount of options before they even step foot on the draft stage in April.