If Bears want to keep WR Meredith, it will cost them
If the Bears want to keep WR Cam Meredith, their No. 1 pass catcher in 2016, it's going to cost them - plenty.
The Saints on Friday, signed the restricted free agent an offer sheet for two years and $9.6 million, with $5.4 million guaranteed. The Bears can keep Meredith by matching the offer. ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the Saints' offer, while NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported the terms first.
The Bears tendered Meredith at the draft-pick-compensation level of $1.907 million (the lowest level), which gives them the opportunity to match the Saints' offer and retain Meredith. But, since Meredith entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois State, the Bears get no compensation if he leaves.
Had the Bears tendered Meredith at the next highest level, just $1 million more, at $2.914 million, they would receive a second-round draft choice in return. That would likely have prevented the Saints or any other team from extending him an offer sheet. Meredith also visited the Ravens and Colts.
Earlier in the offseason, the Bears used the transition tag of $12.971 million on unrestricted free agent Kyle Fuller, rather than the more restrictive franchise tag of $14.975 million. When the Packers presented Fuller with a four-year, $56-million offer sheet, the Bears were forced to match it to keep their top cornerback.
Meredith, who is just 25, went to training camp last year as the Bears' No. 1 wide receiver on the strength of a 2016 season in which his 66 receptions and 888 receiving yards were team bests. He produced those totals despite being inactive the first two games and also tied for the team lead with 4 TD catches.
Although he missed all of the 2017 season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in the third preseason game, the 6-foot-3, 207-pound Meredith is expected to be back at full strength by the start of training camp or soon after.
The Bears' urgency to retain Meredith could be diminished by the offseason free-agent signings of WRs Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, along with pass-catching TE Trey Burton. Robinson's three-year deal is for $42 million, Gabriel signed for $26 million over four years, and Burton got $32 million on a four-year deal.
However, a team that had arguably the worst group of receivers in the NFL last year, cannot afford to lose a proven commodity. Robinson is also coming off a torn ACL, which occurred in the 2017 opener. He, too, expects to be full speed by opening day, but there's no guarantee. WR Kevin White was an opening-day starter for the Bears in 2017 but suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in that game. Multiple injuries have limited White to just five games in three years since the Bears made him the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft.
Meredith started his career at ISU as a quarterback and played wide receiver for just his final two years, including a senior season in which he caught 66 passes for 1,061 yards and 9 touchdowns. As a Bears rookie in 2015, he caught 11 passes for 120 yards.
• Bob LeGere is a senior writer at Pro Football Weekly. Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere or @PFWeekly.