With free agency in the rearview mirror and the calendar flipping over to April, the football world’s attention has shifted toward the NFL draft. Yet, there are still just over two weeks until the Las Vegas Raiders will be on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick. In the meantime, I wanted to look back at the major free-agent signings the Chicago Bears made and see exactly what they are getting for the money they spent this offseason. 

The marquee signing that general manager Ryan Poles pulled off was bringing in Super Bowl champion safety Coby Bryant from the Seattle Seahawks. Poles agreed to a three-year deal worth $40m, with $25.7m guaranteed. Thanks to some contract wizardry, Bryant will only count $5.9m toward this season’s cap, before jumping up to $17m in years two and three. Bryant is coming off his best season after being drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Cincinnati, putting up a career high four interceptions and four tackles for loss. The advanced numbers also back up Bryant’s 2025 breakout, as he allowed the lowest career completion percentage (59%) and passer rating allowed (54.0). 

Speed, Speed, Speed

The focus of the additions the Bears made on defense was to add more speed. There were so many instances where guys would just run by Bears defenders, especially in the Sunday Night game against the San Francisco 49ers. Bryant is much faster than the two safeties he’s replacing, Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard. He’s not a true speed blazer (4.54 40-yard dash), but he has great playing speed in both the pass and the run. In Week 6, with the Jacksonville Jaguars on their own 41-yard line, Bryant lined up at the Seahawks 45. From the snap, it took Braynt four seconds to run 15 yards to blow up an outside zone play by Travis Etienne for a loss of one.Â