20. CHICAGO BEARS (8-9)
LAST SEASON: The Bears made playoffs for second time in coach Matt Nagy’s three seasons despite going 8-8 in regular season for second straight year. Chicago regrouped late in season after six-game losing streak, then got knocked out in convincing fashion in wild-card loss at New Orleans. The Bears’ offense ranked among NFL’s worst, though it performed somewhat better down the stretch.
FREE AGENCY: Lost QB Mitchell Trubisky, CB Kyle Fuller, KR/RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson, LB Barkevious Mingo, DE Brent Urban, DT Roy Robertson-Harris, DT John Jenkins, G Rashaad Coward, WR DeAndre Carter. Signed QB Andy Dalton, RB Damien Williams, WR Marquise Goodwin, LB Jeremiah Attaochu, DE Angelo Blackson, LB Christian Jones, OL Elijah Wilkinson, CB Desmond Trufant. Re-signed S Deon Bush, S DeAndre Houston-Carson, CB Michael Joseph, LS Patrick Scales, S Tashaun Gipson.
THEY NEED: OT, QB, CB, WR, LB.
THEY DON’T NEED: K, DL.
POSSIBLE FIRST PICK: Oklahoma State OT Tevin Jenkins, Northwestern CB Greg Newsome II, Florida WR Kadarius Toney, Mississippi WR Elijah Moore, Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman.
OUTLOOK: The Bears have a first-round pick for the first time since they took linebacker Roquan Smith at No. 8 overall in 2018. And the heat is on general manager Ryan Pace and Nagy to get it right. Smith is Pace’s only first-rounder remaining with the Bears. Receiver Kevin White (No. 7 in 2015) was a bust. Trubisky (No. 2 in 2017) and linebacker Leonard Floyd (No. 9 in 2016) never produced the way the team hoped. The Bears need a young quarterback to go with Dalton and Nick Foles and could use more playmakers on offense. They also created a big hole when they let Fuller go for salary-cap reasons, though Trufant helps in that area.
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