3 Super Bowl free agents the Chicago Bears should sign and why

Super Bowl LIX was a blowout. The Philadelphia Eagles avenged their loss in Super Bowl LVII against the same Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night with a 40-22 victory, preventing them from becoming the first NFL team in history to win three straight Super Bowls. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio put on a clinic masterclass last night as his defense harassed Patrick Mahomes all night without even blitzing.

As the 2024 NFL season comes to an end, the attention now turns to March when the new year begins. Many around the league no doubt took notice of how important the line of scrimmage play was and will invest heavily on offense and defensive line.

One such team is the Chicago Bears. After rookie Caleb Williams was sacked almost 70 times this past season, they must bolster their offensive line where they need at least three new starters. Defensively, they need another edge rusher to pair with Montez Sweat and add another nose tackle following the injuries to veteran Andrew Billings.

Here are three free agents from the Super Bowl game that the Bears must pursue this offseason to help bolster their trenches.

3. Josh Sweat, Defensive End

The Bears already have Montez Sweat (no relation) as one of their edge rushers. Why not get another one? They can come up with a cool slogan, "Gonna Make You Sweat", which is a hit song from the musical group C+C Music Factory.

But seriously, Montez Sweat had to fight injuries and double teams in 2024, and the Bears did not have another reliable edge rusher. Darrell Taylor was acquired from Seattle before the start of the season and had a monster game against the Tennessee Titans. But he never did anything notable after that. They were high on rookie Austin Booker, a fifth-round pick from Kansas. But he played like a fifth-round rookie, who is still raw and needs a lot of work.

Josh Sweat made a lot of money himself by leading the team with 2.5 sacks in the Super Bowl. He will turn 28 in March and this is his opportunity to cash in. He will be a popular candidate for contending teams like Washington and Detroit, who might miss out on Myles Garrett sweepstakes given the high costs.

Having a veteran defender like Josh Sweat will alleviate any concerns of drafting an edge rusher early in the draft. But coming off a 5-12 season, the Bears will be hard pressed not only to pay up, but also selling themselves to players like Sweat.

2. Milton Williams, DT

Unless you are a diehard fan, the name Milton Williams does not ring a bell. But like Sweat, Williams was a star on the defensive line with a two-sack performance, including a strip sack off Patrick Mahomes.

Williams was a third-round pick out of Louisiana Tech in 2021 and had a career-high five sacks this season. He is the kind of three-technique defensive tackle that the Bears have been missing ever since Tommie Harris. The Bears already have an ascending player in Gervon Dexter, and pairing him with Williams would form a devastating interior pass rush. But again, the bidding for Williams is expected to be fierce after last night's performance.

1. Trey Smith, G

Of all of the issues with pass protection the Chiefs had in the Super Bowl, Trey Smith was not one of them. Despite a poor performance by the offensive line the entire night, Smith is expected to leave and hit free agency.

ESPN's Field Yates is predicting that Smith will not get franchise-tagged and hit free agency. There are several factors that work in favor of the Bears. General manager Ryan Poles was with Kansas City when Smith was drafted back in 2021. And right tackle Darnell Wright played with Smith at University of Tennessee from 2019-20. They know Smith better than anyone else.

Smith was a much better run-blocker than pass-blocker this past season, which might be a problem for some teams. Still, Ryan Poles must be ready to pay over $20 million for his services, which is what top guards are making these days. Poles has been particularly bad at building an offensive line and protecting Caleb Williams is the highest priority. If the Bears are going to sign one free-agent, Smith must be their No.1 target.