Bears celebrate new year by making deals official, adding an offensive tackle to the roster

The NFL officially started a new year Wednesday afternoon.

The league’s new year began at 3 p.m. Wednesday, which marked the official start of free agency. Deals that teams negotiated over the early negotiating period during the previous two days can now become official.

A bunch of Chicago Bears deals became official Wednesday. The team announced two big trades that it made last week. Chicago announced the trade of wide receiver DJ Moore and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a 2026 second-round pick and the trade of a 2027 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots for center Garrett Bradbury.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles won’t have much more to spend on other than role players. Chicago has roughly $6.8 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.

Boosting left tackle

Chicago will enter another player to its left tackle competition. The team will reportedly sign left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. to a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Cleveland Browns originally drafted Wills with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Alabama, where he was a second-team All-American in 2019. He started 57 of the 58 games he played for the Browns over five seasons.

Wills’ last two seasons were marred by injury. His 2023 year was cut short to eight games by an MCL injury, and then he only played in five games in 2024 as he continued to deal with pain management from the injury. He decided to sit out the entire 2025 season.

The Bears are in need of a starting left tackle after starter Ozzy Trapilo injured his patellar tendon in the NFC playoffs against the Green Bay Packers. Chicago expects Trapilo to return at some point later on in the season.

Poles brought back Braxton Jones on a one-year contract along with Theo Benedet, both of whom had started games at left tackle last season. Kiran Amegadjie is also expected to be in the mix after competing for the spot during training camp last year.

Byard moves on

There won’t be a reunion between the Bears and safety Kevin Byard. The New England Patriots are expected to sign Byard to a one-year deal for $9 million. The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first to report the news.

Byard came off a renaissance year at the age of 32 with the Bears last season. He led the league with seven interceptions and earned his third All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors of his career. Byard also added eight passes defended and finished with four tackles for loss.

He was also a major vocal leader for the Bears on and off the field.

A reunion with the Bears seemed likely at the end of the season when both sides seemed open to it. But the two sides didn’t come to an agreement before Monday’s negotiations started, and the Bears signed Coby Bryant to a three-year, $40 million deal.

Chicago will look for another starter at safety since Jaquan Brisker is a free agent. But the Bears will likely fill that need in the draft given that Brisker’s asking price might be too high for the Bears.

Hendrickson goes to Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens continued a dramatic 24 hours for the organization Wednesday morning. Baltimore will reportedly sign top pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal, per multiple reports.

The move comes after a dramatic decision Tuesday night that shook the NFL world. It was announced that Baltimore backed out of its trade with the Las Vegas Raiders that would’ve netted the Ravens pass rusher Maxx Crosby for two first-round picks.

The Ravens reportedly didn’t want to go through with the deal once the new league started Wednesday because Crosby couldn’t pass a physical exam with the team.

Chicago was likely interested in both Hendrickson and Crosby as options to boost its pass rush. But it quickly became clear that both players were out of the Bears’ budget.

Depending on what the Raiders plan on doing with Crosby, the Bears could get back in the mix depending on the asking price from Las Vegas.

Atlanta signs Chris Williams

Former Bears defensive tackle Chris Williams signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Schefter reported the signing.

Williams played in 31 games over two seasons with the Bears. He served in a more reserved, rotational role with Chicago and finished with one sack, two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss.