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Tracking the Chicago Bears in NFL free agency: Special teams standout Daniel Hardy signed to 2-year deal
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- Tracking the Chicago Bears in NFL free agency: Special teams standout Daniel Hardy signed to 2-year deal
The busiest week on the NFL's offseason calendar is upon us.
The free-agent negotiating period opens at 11 a.m. Monday, and free agency officially begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday with the start of the 2026 league year. At that point, any contracts negotiated or trades agreed to can become official.
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The Chicago Bears were busy in free agency the last three years as general manager Ryan Poles signed such players as Tremaine Edmunds , T.J. Edwards , D'Andre Swift, Grady Jarrett , Drew Dalman and Dayo Odeyingbo .
The Bears might not be quite as active this time around, but they have given themselves some salary-cap flexibility with moves made ahead of free agency. First, Dalman made the surprising decision to retire. Then the Bears traded wide receiver DJ Moore , released Edmunds and traded for center Garrett Bradbury .
In all, those moves leave the Bears with a new starting center and approximately $27 million of available salary-cap space heading into free agency. Top positions of need include safety, linebacker, defensive line and left tackle.
Here's the latest Bears news in free agency.
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Sunday: Bears sign Daniel Hardy to two-year contract
It's no surprise that when the Bears needed an onside kick recovery in the Week 16 rally to stun the Green Bay Packers , they kicked to the side of the formation with Josh Blackwell and Daniel Hardy.
Blackwell has been one of the team's best special teams players for several seasons and Hardy has emerged as a similarly valuable performer in that phase.
So, it wasn't a surprise when the Bears reached an agreement with Hardy on a $5 million, two-year contract Sunday night, preventing him from leaving in free agency.
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Hardy led the Bears with 19 tackles on special teams last season and he provides more than just production for special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. He's a matchup problem for opponents because he's the rare defensive end — 6-foot-2, 255 pounds — who can play in the open field on special teams.
Hardy was a restricted free agent and while the Bears didn't want to tender him at $3.52 million for one season, they did want him back. A two-year deal is just what Blackwell got when he was in the same position a year ago.
The Bears experimented a little with having Hardy play as a strong-side linebacker and, late in the season, he did a little moonlighting on offense as a fullback. But his primary role is on special teams and even with a tighter salary cap situation this season, the Bears are showing they don't want to cut major corners when it comes to a unit that performed well in 2025.
Friday: Bears trade for C Garrett Bradbury
The Bears agreed to trade a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for center Garrett Bradbury , per multiple reports. Bradbury immediately fills the void left by Dalman's retirement.
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A seven-year veteran, Bradbury has started 105 games in his NFL career. He spent six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before signing with the Patriots in free agency a year ago.
Bradbury has played in all 17 games during each of the past two seasons. He also has familiarity playing with Bears All-Pro Joe Thuney . The two were college teammates at N.C. State.
The trade cannot become official until 3 p.m. Wednesday, but it filled a major need for the Bears before free agency even began.
Thursday: Bears release LB Tremaine Edmunds
The Bears are set to release linebacker Tremaine Edmunds , a league source confirmed to the Tribune. Doing so will save $15 million against the salary cap in 2026.
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Edmunds played three seasons with the Bears, appearing in 45 games and totaling nine interceptions, two forced fumbles and 335 tackles. The Bears originally signed him to a four-year, $72 million contract in March 2023. At an $18 million average annual value, that made him the third-highest-paid linebacker in the NFL last season.
Releasing Edmunds in conjunction with the DJ Moore trade and Drew Dalman's retirement freed up more than $40 million in cap space. Before those moves, the Bears were about $7 million over the cap, so they head into free agency with about $33 million to spend.
The Bears previously allowed Edmunds to seek a trade, but it doesn't appear that a trade partner ever emerged. He will become a free agent immediately.
Thursday: Bears agree to trade WR DJ Moore to Bills
The Bears will send wide receiver DJ Moore and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick once trades can become official Wednesday, according to multiple national reports.
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It's an abrupt ending to Moore's three-year tenure in Chicago that began with a 1,364-yard season in 2023 after the Bears acquired him from the Carolina Panthers as part of a package for the No. 1 pick. Moore signed a four-year, $110 million extension the next summer that kicks in this year, and he was due to cost $28.5 million against the 2026 salary cap.
Trading him will save the Bears about $16.5 million against the cap.
March 3: Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman retires at 27
One year after signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the Bears, center Drew Dalman informed the team he is retiring . Dalman was a centerpiece on the retooled offensive line , one of three additions the team made on the interior last year.
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He and guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson started every game last season, with Dalman and Thuney making the Pro Bowl — Dalman's first selection. All three remained under contract for 2026 before Dalman's surprising decision.
His retirement vaults center up the list of needs for the Bears, who already were looking for solutions at left tackle with Ozzy Trapilo expected to be sidelined for most of next season.
Feb. 25: Bears allow LB Tremaine Edmunds to seek a trade
The Bears gave linebacker Tremaine Edmunds permission to seek a trade during the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis . If no trade partner emerges, the assumption is the Bears will release Edmunds and save $15 million against the salary cap.
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Edmunds signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Bears in 2023 and has one year remaining on that deal. He has appeared in 45 regular-season games for the Bears and has nine interceptions.
Feb. 19: Bears release LB Amen Ogbongbemiga
The Bears started clearing salary-cap space by terminating the contract of linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga . The move created $2.07 million in cap space.
A core special teams player, Ogbongbemiga re-signed with the Bears last offseason on a two-year, $5 million deal and was set to earn up to $2.25 million in 2026. He was arguably their most consistent special teams player in 2024.
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Which Bears players are hitting free agency?
A number of Bears defensive backs are hitting the free-agent market, including all four of their safeties.
All-Pro safety Kevin Byard III likely will have the biggest market. He led the NFL with seven interceptions last year and was a leader on the defense. The Bears signed Byard to a two-year, $15 million contract in 2024 , and he could have a robust market after his big season, despite the fact he'll be 33 when next season begins.
Other players hitting free agency include safeties Jaquan Brisker , Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks , cornerbacks Nahshon Wright and C.J. Gardner-Johnson , linebacker D'Marco Jackson, defensive end Dominique Robinson and defensive tackle Andrew Billings .
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Wright was a surprise difference-maker in 2025 after signing a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Bears in April. He wound up emerging as a starter and totaled five interceptions and three fumble recoveries, making the Pro Bowl as an alternate and likely earning himself a big raise.
On the offense, tackle Braxton Jones and wide receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay are among the players due to be free agents. Jones started 44 games at left tackle over four years but lost his starting spot last season.
