Chicago Bears 2023 Free Agency: Tight Ends To Target

The Chicago Bears have a glaring hole at tight end. Despite a good season from Cole Kmet, the offense received nothing behind him.

We are about two weeks from the NFL’s new league year. With it comes the start of free agency. Teams like the Chicago Bears get a chance to improve their rosters with new players.

Poles did a great job of setting the Bears up to hit free agency hard. The Bears will start the new year with the highest salary cap space in the league. Poles has a wallet that is about $100 million thick. There is a chance of more cuts coming so that number will rise.

With the biggest bank account in the league, Poles has a chance to go in on any free agent he feels is necessary. We should not expect him to go on a free shopping spree, but if there is a “must-have” player in his and his coaches’ minds, he has the money to make sure he gets him.

One while there are many spots to fill on the offense, one important one is tight end. Cole Kmet had a good season with 50 catches for 544 yards and 7 touchdowns. However, the Bears got nothing from any of the other tight ends. They combined for just 6 catches for 52 yards and zero touchdowns.

In order to help quarterback Justin Fields develop his passing game, he needs better targets. That includes tight ends as well as wide receivers.

If Poles can find a backup tight end or even another one who can play as much as Kmet, that will give the offense a huge boost. With improved wide receivers, having a dependable tight ends unit will give Fields more options and a better chance at scoring more points.

While Poles may go with a tight end in the draft, here are some veteran free agents who could also help.

Eric Saubert, Denver Broncos

The Chicago Bears are in desperate need of depth at tight end. Eric Saubert won’t be a big-time player but he could add good depth. He is solid in a number of areas, but not great in any.

He understands what his role will be on a team. He’s been on six teams in his six seasons. That includes a cup of coffee with the Chicago Bears. He understands that sometimes it takes a few tries before a player finally catches on somewhere. A second stint in Chicago could be great for him.

Saubert doesn’t need to come in and be great. If he can take some snaps and help Kmet get some rest that is great. If he could also make a couple of catches and block well that’s also great.

Saubert was born and raised in Chicago so coming back home could be something that could boost both him and the Chicago Bears.

Irv Smith, Minnesota Vikings

Irv Smith was supposed to be the next in line to take over after Kyle Rudolph moved on. However, injuries derailed those plans. He suffered a torn meniscus in 2021 and early on in 2022 he suffered a high ankle sprain.

The Vikings went out and traded for TJ Hockenson. Now, it appears that Hockenson is in Minnesota’s plans and Smith is out.

Smith could be a low-risk, high-reward signing. He could sign a short, “prove it” deal in Chicago. If he shows that he can still contribute then that helps the offense.

Smith and Kmet could form a deadly duo for Fields. He’d have two big, dependable targets. That will be handy in the red zone. Defenses cannot cover everybody so they’ll have to pick one. That makes life easier for the other. It also makes life easier for Fields. He won’t have to run around as much as he did in 2022.

Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars

Another tight end who could team up with Kmet and give Fields a great duo is Evan Engram. Engram just had a career year in 2022 and could take advantage of that. He wants to stay with the Jaguars but he needs to strike while the iron is hot. While Jacksonville wants to keep him, they are about $12.5 million over the salary cap so keeping him will be difficult.

Engram had 73 catches for 766 yards and 4 touchdowns. The catches and yards were both career highs. He could cause some damage along with Kmet and the Chicago Bears offense could be a points machine. They could bring back memories of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez with the New England Patriots.

Hayden Hurst, Cincinnati Bengals

Hayden Hurst is good at catching the ball and making plays. In 2022, he had 52 catches for 414 yards and 2 touchdowns. Not bad for being Joe Burrows‘ fourth option.

Half of Hurst’s catches in 2022 resulted in first downs. Additionally, he had a 76.5 percent catch percentage and had only two dropped balls (2.9 percent drop rate). Burrow had a passer rating of 94.9 when targeting Hurst.

Hurst was supposed to be one of Lamar Jackson‘s go-to targets when the Baltimore Ravens drafted him in 2018. However, they also drafted Mark Andrews and Andrews became one of the top tight ends in the league.

In 2020, the Ravens then traded Hurst to the Atlanta Falcons, where he played for two seasons. The Bengals signed him last season and he finally got a chance to shine.

Going to Chicago would give Hurst a chance to play with a similar quarterback to Jackson. Fields draws comparisons to Jackson so perhaps Hurst can connect well with the third-year quarterback.

Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders

Foster Moreau would be a perfect fit for the Chicago Bears. He is a good in-line blocker and he can be a dependable pass-catcher. In 2022, he had 33 catches for 420 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 12.7 yards per catch average is excellent. Fields can depend on him downfield as well as underneath.

Moreau is also strong healthwise. In the past two seasons, he’s played 1,521 snaps. He came in and did a good job when the starter, Darren Waller went down with injuries.

The Bears could have both Moreau and Kmet line up together, with Moreau blocking and Kmet could line out at the slot. It just gives offensive coordinator Luke Getsy more options. The more he could move players around the more it gives the opponents more things to try to defend against.

One of the reasons Kmet did well in 2022 was Trevon Wesco‘s blocking ability freed up Kmet to make bigger plays. That resulted in seven touchdowns after only having two in the last two seasons.

The problem with Wesco is that he wasn’t a thought in the passing game. Moreau is. With him on the field, it could be a Kmet target but could end up being a Moreau target.

Moreau would fit in well with the Chicago Bears and could help Kmet and Fields take bigger steps in 2023.