The 2023 offseason is officially in full swing, and the Chicago Bears are gearing up for what should be one of the busiest springs in recent memory.
Armed with $98.6 million in cap space, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will have plenty of opportunities to improve the team roster in free agency, while also needing to make key decisions on which players they should let walk.
Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position to break down where Chicago stands entering the 2023 offseason. We’re wrapping things up with special teams, which appears all but set heading into the new year.
Who's on the roster?
- Cairo Santos
- Trenton Gill
Santos has been a reliable kicker for the Bears over the last three years. And that remains true heading into the 2023 season. Last year, Santos connected on 21-of-23 field goals (91.3%) But the one point of contention were his struggles on extra point attempts, where he missed five over the course of the year (27/32 for 84.4%). It’s the most misses he’s had in his career — and four more than his previous two years in Chicago — and all of them came at Soldier Field, including two during a monsoon in Week 1. Still, Santos remains a reliable kicker and there’s no need for the Bears to consider another option at this point.
Gill was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft, where he stepped in for the departed Pat O’Donnell, who exited in free agency. Gill had a solid rookie season and made it a seamless transition from O’Donnell. Gill was good at pinning teams deep, where he had 20 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill had just one punt blocked, which came against the Dolphins when Jaelan Phillips got past Khalil Herbert for the block. It was recovered and returned for a touchdown. Outside of that blemish, Gill looked like a seasoned pro in just his first season in Chicago. Gill finished the season with a net punting average of 40.3 yards, the third best in franchise history.
Who's slated to hit free agency?
- Patrick Scales
Scales has been a mainstay with the Bears since joining them in 2015, and it spoke volumes that GM Ryan Poles opted to re-sign Scales to a one-year deal last offseason. Scales was just one of two players from the former resume to be brought back. In his eight-year career, Scales has appeared in 105 games as a long snapper with the Ravens (2014) and Bears (2015-22). Scales is coming off another solid year with Chicago, where he was the lone Bears player to receive a single All-Pro vote for 2022. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him brought back on another affordable one-year deal, especially given the importance of chemistry with this special teams unit.
Who might join the Bears?
Chicago could certainly look to re-sign Scales to a one-year deal and keep the specialist team together. But if Poles wants to look elsewhere, this draft class wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
UCF’s Alex Ward, California’s Slater Zellers and Oregon’s Karsten Battles certainly lead the pack. Ward, along with Oklahoma State’s Matt Hembrough and Penn State’s Chris Stoll are finalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award, which recognizes the nation’s top long snapper. Also, Virginia Military Institute’s Robert Soderholm, who the Bears got an up close look at during the Senior Bowl, is certainly an intriguing name to monitor.
Positional need: Low
Special teams ranks far down the list of needs for the Bears this offseason. They already have their kicker and punter locked down in Santos and Gill. The only question is whether there’s a change at long snapper, if Chicago looks to bring in a young guy via the draft. Considering how efficient the core special team group of Santos, Gill and Scales was last season, it makes sense to bring back Scales on a cheap, one-year deal and keep the band together.
2023 offseason position previews
We’re going position by position to preview the Bears this 2023 offseason:
