The Chicago Bears are bringing back receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who signed a one-year extension worth $1.25 million earlier this week.
It’s a move that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise given St. Brown’s impact as a blocker in the run game, his knowledge of Luke Getsy’s scheme and the fact that his deal is an affordable one.
“I just talked to my agent probably like two weeks ago and we talked about things and we thought it would be the best decision for me to stay here,” St. Brown said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “I think we’re building on something here and I feel like the coaching staff and the organization likes me. I like it here, I’m happy here, so I want to stay here.”
With St. Brown being re-signed, Chicago now has four receivers under contract heading into the 2023 offseason — also including Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool and Velus Jones Jr.
While injuries and a depleted roster have sometimes forced St. Brown into a WR1 or WR2 role this year, he should serve as a dependable WR4 or WR5 in 2023.
“We always talk about, does he love football and exhibit that every single day in every play?” said coach Matt Eberflus. “EQ does that. He shows up to work every day and he works. When you work on the practice field like him, those are the kinds of guys we wanna keep around.”
St. Brown’s knowledge of the offense was also a contributing factor, as he’s been able to coach teammates in the first year of this new scheme.
“He knows all the positions,” said receivers coach Tyke Tolbert. “He’s beneficial for the team because he helps other guys. I may be talking to somebody about something over here, EQ’s over there talking to somebody about something.
“We’re very fortunate to have him back and I’m glad he’s gonna be with the Bears.”
While things have been pretty ugly for the Bears’ passing game this season — they’ve been the worst passing offense all season, averaging 129.9 yards per game — St. Brown believes the arrow is pointed up heading into 2023.
“This is our first time together as a team, a lot of new players, a lot of new coaches,” St. Brown said. “I think we have something to build off. Our run game has been good, our pass game has struggled a little bit, but I think as the season has gone on it’s gotten better. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think we’ll be ready for next year.”
