3 key players the Bears have to replace before next season
This season has been a wildly disappointing one for the Chicago Bears. Fans, players and coaches alike would love nothing more than to turn the page on 2024 and look ahead to next year, where hopefully brighter times lie ahead.
There is much to fix at Halas Hall if the Bears hope to flip the script next year, and that starts with finding a new head coach. Recent reports suggested that four names top Chicago's wish list: Ben Johnson, Joe Brady, Mike Vrabel and Brian Flores. Whomever Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren select to succeed Matt Eberflus, though, they'll have their work cut out for them to climb out of the basement in the hyper-competitive NFC North.
Poles will also need to keep up the hard work after a head coach is secured, as the Bears look nearly certain to land a top-10 pick in the draft. Just as important, if not more so, is free agency, where there will be some difficult decisions to make.
One can quibble with the areas he's prioritized above others, but it can't be denied that Poles has upgraded the talent level of this roster since taking over for former GM Ryan Pace. The Bears team he inherited was a real mess with a bad cap situation. The depth chart looks much better today, but now it's time to fill in the gaps and turn weaknesses into strengths.
There are several Bears set to become free agents, and not all of them will be returning to Chicago. Today, let's look at three that might be nearing the end of their time in the Windy City, and why they'll need to be replaced.
Keenan Allen could be one-and-done
One of Poles' highest-profile moves this past offseason was trading a fourth-round pick to the Chargers for Keenan Allen. The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver has had his moments on his new team, such as his two-touchdown games against the Jaguars and Lions, but he's had some key drops, and the passing attack hasn't taken off like Bears fans hoped it would.
Allen will be 33 by time next season begins, and though he spoke recently about he and DJ Moore wanting to "run it back" next year, there are a host of reasons why that might not happen. One is the presence of rookie Rome Odunze, who looks poised to take over as, at minimum, the Bears' number two receiver. Moore was signed to an extension this offseason, which could leave Allen as the odd man out.
Allen has shown that although he doesn't have the same juice he once did (and really, who among us does?), he's the kind of player that a quarterback loves to have: someone with a nose for the sticks and a knack for the end zone. Allen missed two games earlier this season with a foot injury, but his 7.6 targets per game ranks just behind Moore for second on the team.
Allen would almost certainly be a better option than whoever the Bears potentially replaced him with, but the money he can still command would be better served to bolster the offensive line. Caleb Williams has been sacked more than any other quarterback in the league this year, and if Poles is on his last chance as GM, it's because he hasn't allocated adequate resources to winning the battle in the trenches. He knows that he needs to make multiple splashes in that department, and unless Allen is willing to take a pay cut to stay, he'll likely be elsewhere next year.
Teven Jenkins has been good when he's been on the field, but the Bears may get cold feet on extending him due to his injury history
Teven Jenkins is everything you could want in a Bear. He's physical, he's mean and he stands up for his quarterback. If only he didn't have such a troubling injury history, he'd be a Bear for life.
Jenkins is only 26 and in his fourth season, but already he's missed more than 20 games due to injury. Continuity and availability are super important on the offensive line, and although Jenkins has performed well when given the chance, the Bears will have to decide if it's worth the risk to sign him to an extension that will be much more lucrative than his rookie deal.
Jenkins will have no shortage of suitors in the open market, but due to the fact that he's been the poster child of the Bears' perpetually banged-up offensive line, Poles may let him walk rather than committing big guaranteed money to an extension.
Placing the franchise tag on Jenkins is probably not an option, as he'd then become one of the highest-paid offensive linemen in the league, on par with some of the league's top tackles. The one-year nature of the franchise tag could mitigate the risk of a long-term deal, but it's still far too rich for a player that is always a threat to miss time.
If Jenkins were to leave Chicago, Bears fans would be united in their sadness to see him go. Football is a cold business though, and Poles will have to think with his head and not his heart.
The Bears could look to draft a rookie or sign an upgrade in free agency to replace Coleman Shelton
Ask any Bears fan to name the five players that have driven them the most crazy this season, and center Coleman Shelton would appear on nearly every list. Shelton has been emblematic of Poles' strategy to patch the O-line together by looking for bargains and diamonds in the rough, but this isn't Agrabah, and Shelton isn't Aladdin.
Shelton has a surprisingly solid grade from Pro Football Focus, but his play hasn't passed the eye test. Yes, he's been an upgrade over Lucas Patrick, but the same could have been said for an oversized lawn gnome. Let's not hang the banner for that.
Shelton has had a troubling habit of becoming roadkill for incoming pass rushers. This "highlight" was from Week 1 against the Titans:
Coleman has played better since Shane Waldron was let go, but when you're still putting plays like this on tape, that's what fans are going to remember. Look at "Play 6" from Sunday against the 49ers:
This offseason is going to be all about the offensive line. The Bears already need a new right guard because Nate Davis didn't work out, but with Jenkins' injury history and Shelton's ability to create highlights for the other team, it could mean that the entire interior line is new in 2025.