Former Dolphins, Bears TE Dion Sims Retires From NFL
Dion Sims is calling it a career. On Friday, the former Bears and Dolphins tight end announced his retirement from the NFL. 
“Decided to hang my cleats up after 20 years of playing American football,” Sims tweeted. “God is good and I’m grateful!!!!!”
Sims spent six of those football playing years in the NFL – four with Miami and two with Chicago. We haven’t seen him on the field since 2018, however, so his retirement doesn’t come as a shock.
Sims, who turned 29 in February, never topped 30 receptions or 300 yards receiving during his six-year run. However, he was a solid blocker for most of his career. He also earned some solid money in his playing days: $11MM+ in total, with the bulk of it coming from the Bears.
The Bears gave Sims a three-year, $18MM deal in 2017, a solid payday at the time. That free agent class also featured TEs Vernon Davis, Jared Cook, Martellus Bennett, Jack Doyle, and Luke Willson.
Sims exits the sport with 91 receptions for 888 yards and nine touchdowns.
Bears To Sign S Tashaun Gipson
Tashaun Gipson did not spend much time in free agency. Three days after his Texans release, the veteran safety agreed to a deal with the Bears, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
The former Browns, Jaguars and Texans safety agreed to a one-year Bears contract. Chicago did not re-sign Ha Ha Clinton-Dix this offseason, with the now-well-traveled defender opting to sign with Dallas. And the Bears did not draft a safety, opening the door for Gipson to crack another team’s starting lineup.
In All-Pro Eddie Jackson, the Bears employ one of the game’s best safeties. They have fifth-year player Deon Bush, former Chief Jordan Lucas and ex-Packer Kentrell Brice as well. Gipson is more accomplished than all of Chicago’s non-Jackson safeties, having made 104 starts in eight seasons.
This will be Gipson’s age-30 season. The former Browns UDFA spent just one season with the Texans. He was with the Jaguars for three years and played a key role on two dominant defenses. Last season in Houston, Gipson intercepted three passes and took one back for a touchdown. He has 23 career INTs.
Gipson graded outside Pro Football Focus’ top 60 at the position, however, so his Bears deal is unlikely to approach the three-year, $22.5MM deal he inked with the Texans.
Bears To Sign Ted Ginn Jr.
The Bears have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran wideout Ted Ginn Jr., according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Ginn, 35, indicated earlier this month that he didn’t plan to retire. A return to New Orleans never seemed likely after the Saints signed Emmanuel Sanders, but Ginn has now landed in Chicago where the Bears were in need of another pass-catcher.
While the Bears have Allen Robinson at one outside receiver position, and Anthony Miller in the slot, they were looking for a speed option to compete with Javon Wims for their third receiver role. Ginn has played between 55-65% of his club’s offensive snaps in recent seasons, and he figures to settle in at that rate Chicago in 2020.
Last season, Ginn caught 30 passes for 421 yards and two touchdowns. While he was once a prolific return man, Ginn hasn’t played a special teams role in the past few years. That shouldn’t be an issue in Chicago, where the Bears already employ Cordarrelle Patterson.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/29/20
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Bryan Cox Jr.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Trevor Davis
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LB Daniel Bituli
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: G Zac Kerin
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/28/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DT John Jenkins
Denver Broncos
- Waived: OT Ka’John Armstrong
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: DE Anthony Lanier, RB Marcus Marshall
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (Dolphins): S Montre Hartage
- Waived: DB Derrick Baity, TE C.J. Conrad, LS Colin Holba, LS Drew Scott, P Sean Smith, C Tanner Volson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Claimed off waivers (Lions): G Casey Tucker
Seattle Seahawks
- Claimed off waivers (Jaguars): DB Jayson Stanley
Jenkins, 30, spent the 2017 season with the Bears before spending time with the Giants and Dolphins. In Miami last year, he started five times and appeared in all 16 games. He finished out the year with 34 total tackles and his first sack since 2015. The deal also reunites him with old colleague Ryan Pace, the Bears GM who worked in the Saints’ front office when Jenkins was drafted back in 2013.
Bears Agree To Terms With 11 UDFAs
The Bears announced this morning that they’ve agreed to terms with 11 undrafted free agents, including the brother of one of their star players:
- Lee Autry, DT (Mississippi State)
- Dieter Eiselen, OG (Yale)
- Keandre Jones, LB (Maryland)
- LaCale London, LB (Western Illinois)
- Ledarius Mack, LB (Buffalo)
- Napoleon Maxwell, RB (Florida International)
- Trevor McSwain, DT (Duke)
- Artavis Pierce, RB (Oregon State)
- Rashad Smith, LB (Florida Atlantic)
- Badara Traore, OT (LSU)
- Ahmad Wagner, WR (Kentucky)
Mack is the most notable name on the list, as he’s the younger brother of Bears Pro Bowler Khalil Mack. The Buffalo product finished his senior season with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The younger Mack is one of four linebackers signed by Chicago, and that’s after the organization added a linebacker (Trevis Gipson) in the fifth round of the draft.
Autry also has some NFL pedigree, as his brother, cornerback Denico Autry, plays for the Colts.
Wagner is perhaps the most interesting prospect in the group. The six-foot-five receiver spent three seasons playing basketball at Iowa before transferring to Kentucky to play football. He hauled in 15 receptions for 254 yards and two scores during his lone season with the Wildcats.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/27/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Chicago Bears
- Released: TE Dax Raymond
Denver Broncos
- Released: S Tyvis Powell, TE Bug Howard, DL Deyon Sizer, DL Jay-Tee Tiuli
Detroit Lions
- Released: RB Tra Carson, LS James Fisher, G Casey Tucker, P Matt Wile
Green Bay Packers
- Released: QB Manny Wilkins
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: TE Billy Brown, WR Steve Ishmael
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: QB Kyle Shurmur
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: RB Mark Thompson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: C Coleman Shelton (Exclusive Rights Free Agent)
- Released: LB Jeff Holland
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: S Jacob Thieneman
Eagles, Bears Agree To Day 3 Swap
The Bears jumped up 23 spots in Round 5 to draft Tulane wide receiver Darnell Mooney. In exchange for sliding down into the sixth round, the Eagles acquired two additional selections in this draft.
Philadelphia will receive Chicago’s Nos. 200 and 233 overall picks, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Mooney will follow Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet as pass-catching weapons coming to Chicago. Mooney saw action in all four of his Green Wave seasons, topping out with a 993-yard, eight-touchdown junior slate in 2018. That season, Mooney averaged 20.8 yards per catch.
The Bears released Taylor Gabriel earlier this offseason did not address the area in free agency or during the first two days of the draft. Although Chicago selected Riley Ridley last year, its Saturday trade points to having some notable plans for Mooney.
Bears To Decline Mitch Trubisky’s Option?
The Bears have kept mum on the situation, but league sources believe they will decline Mitchell Trubisky’s fifth-year option, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Currently, the 2021 add-on is projected to be north of $24MM.
Rumored to bring in a veteran to compete with Trubisky early this offseason, Chicago did so by acquiring Nick Foles from Jacksonville. The Super Bowl LII MVP figures to have a good chance of unseating the 2017 No. 2 overall pick as the Bears’ starting quarterback. Trubisky’s future in the Windy City became murky after GM Ryan Pace swung the Foles deal.
In 2019, Trubisky couldn’t stay healthy. Throughout the year, he was plagued with hip, shoulder, and other trouble. In the offseason, he went under the knife to fix the torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. The typical recovery time for the labrum surgery is around two months. Trubisky’s surgery took place sometime in January, so the Bears should have some read on his status before the fifth-year option date.
In 2018, the former North Carolina passer posted a 95.4 quarterback rating and threw for 24 touchdowns against 12 interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl nod. Last year, however, was a pretty big step back – he had just 17 TDs against ten INTs and the Bears’ talented D couldn’t make up for the offense’s shortcomings. The Bears went 8-7 in Trubisky’s 15 starts and finished .500 on the season, leaving them short of the postseason.
Trubisky’s name will always be linked to Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, the quarterbacks on whom the Bears passed three years ago. It is certainly possible Trubisky will not be part of the 2021 Bears.
Bears To Hold Another Kicker Battle
- Another year, another Bears kicking competition. After a very public kicker battle throughout the 2019 offseason, the Bears will hold another this year. Incumbent Eddy Pineiro will match up against lower-profile challenger Ramiz Ahmed, Ryan Pace confirmed (via the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jason Lieser). The Bears signed Ahmed, who kicked at Nevada for one season and has yet to kick in an NFL game, last week but had their eye on him as a UDFA last year. A late addition last summer, Pineiro made 23 of 28 field goals with the Bears last season.