Bears Sign LB Kevin Pierre-Louis
The post-May 7 free agency period has begun to move. The Bears made a move to add linebacker depth on Wednesday.
Chicago signed Kevin Pierre-Louis to a one-year deal, the franchise announced. The Jets made Pierre-Louis a free agent after declining his 2019 option.
Pierre-Louis was part of the 2017 Chiefs, who employed Matt Nagy as their offensive coordinator. Bears inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone also coached Nagy in Kansas City.
Entering his sixth season, the 27-year-old linebacker has played mostly as a backup in his nomadic career. The Seahawks drafted Pierre-Louis in the 2014 sixth round and kept him around through the 2016 season. Pierre-Louis spent 2017 with the Chiefs and 2018 with the Jets, the latter beginning with a one-game suspension. However, the second-level defender played in nine Jets games upon returning. He ended last season on IR.
The Boston College alum will join a Bears linebacking corps that will return Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith as its off-ball starters. The Bears made just five draft picks, none a linebacker, so Pierre-Louis figures to have a decent shot at being on Chicago’s 53-man roster come Week 1.
Raiders Trade K Eddy Pineiro To Bears
Robbie Gould might not be coming back to Chicago after all. On Monday, the Bears acquired kicker Eddy Pineiro from the Raiders, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will net the Raiders a 2021 seventh-round pick, provided that Pineiro is on Chicago’s active roster for five games.
After last weekend’s rookie minicamp, the Bears trimmed their kickers down from four to two. Now, they have three kickers to audition in Pineiro, Elliott Fry, and Chris Blewitt.
Pineiro, who joined the Raiders as a UDFA out of Florida last year, has yet to kick in a regular season game. In the preseason last year, he made all three of his field goal tries, plus his lone XP attempt.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/6/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DE Aaron Adeoye, CB Terrell Bonds, OT Darrell Williams
- Waived: DB Robertson Daniel, S Evan Worthington, OL C.J. Toogood
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Tommy Doles, DE Jalen Dalton
- Cut: DB Adarius Pickett, DE Lawrence Marshall
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Jhavonte Dean, RB Travon Gray, LB Willie Harvey
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed: WR Jawill Davis
- Signed: WR Darrius Shepherd, CB Chandon Sullivan
- Released: RB Lavon Coleman
Kansas City Chiefs
- Reserve/non-football injury list: DE Tim Ward
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LB Bryce Hager
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Terrance Alexander, DE Stacy Keely, DB Isaiah Wharton
New England Patriots
- WR Xavier Ubosi
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Kenny Bigelow Jr., RB Devine Ozigbo, CB Jordan Wyatt
New York Giants
- Signed: G Austin Droogsma
New York Jets
- Waived: QB Brandon Silvers
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: P A.J. Cole, DT Ronald Ollie
- Waived: P Drew Kaser, OL Jamar McGloster
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed: OL Willie Beavers,
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds, RB Austin Walter
- Waived: RB Matthew Dayes, DL Ryan Delaire
Bears Waive Two Kickers, Trim Kicking Competition
The battle to replace Cody Parkey in Chicago is getting a little tighter. The Bears have released kickers Redford Jones and John Baron II as part of a handful of roster moves made Sunday, they announced on Twitter.
After Parkey’s now infamous double-doink eliminated the Bears from the playoffs last year, they’ve gone all out in their search for his replacement. They just had eight kickers at their rookie minicamp for tryouts, and they had four on the roster before making this move. Jones is the former Tulsa kicker who the Bears signed back in January. Baron was an undrafted free agent from San Diego State who Chicago just added last week.
With Baron and Jones gone, only Elliott Fry and Chris Blewitt are left. The Bears have left no stone unturned, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they weren’t done adding to the kicking group just yet. Fry shined in the recently-folded AAF, while Blewitt is the former Pitt kicker signed back in March.
Jones and Baron weren’t the only ones who got bounced from the 90-man roster, as defensive back Adarius Pickett and defensive end Lawrence Marshall were both cut as well. Pickett and Marshall were both rookie undrafted free agents who were just signed recently, from UCLA and Michigan respectively.
The Bears signed two rookie undrafted free agents to take their place, offensive lineman Tommy Doles from Northwestern and defensive lineman Jalen Dalton from North Carolina. Both players participated in the minicamp.
The Bears have had an unstable kicking situation recently, and it’s one of the team’s biggest needs as they look to repeat as NFC North champions in 2019. The battle will be closely monitored in training camp.
Bears, Bills Discussed Round 3 Trade-Up
The Bills also offered an undisclosed team picking in the 20s, which initiated the talks, picks 40, 131 and 147. (Beane said multiple teams contacted him to inquire if the Bills wanted to move back into Round 1.) But said team did not believe that was enough to move out of the round. This move was likely for Cody Ford. The Bills attempted to trade up higher than they did in order to land Ford in the second round, with members of their draft room showing relief the Panthers — whom Bills execs assumed were taking the Oklahoma lineman — before striking a deal with the Raiders for No. 38. The Bills also rebuffed a Bears offer to move out of No. 74, which ended up sending running back Devin Singletary to Buffalo.
Bears To Audition DB Quinten Rollins
It sounds like Quinten Rollins might have another crack at an NFL gig. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Twitter) that the Bears will audition the defensive back this weekend.
Rollins was a second-round pick of the Packers back in 2015, and he proceeded to play three seasons for the organization. The cornerback looked solid during his first two years in the league, combining for 72 tackles, 14 passes defended, and three interceptions in 27 games (14 starts). Rollins was third on the Packers’ depth chart heading into 2017, but a leg injury ended up limiting him to only six games.
Last preseason, the Packers tried moving the cornerback to safety, and they also gave him some reps as a punt returner. Rollins couldn’t emerge in either role, and following a hamstring injury at the end of the preseason, he was placed on injured reserve. Green Bay ended up releasing him with an injury settlement, and he quickly caught on with the Cardinals. However, he didn’t see the field before being released in mid-December.
The Bears have already added a pair of defensive backs via free agency in safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and cornerback Buster Skrine. If Rollins were to join Chicago, he’d be competing with the likes of Sherrick McManis, Kevin Toliver, and Jonathon Mincy to be the team’s fourth corner.
Bears Sign 22 UDFAs
The Bears have quite a big UDFA class. Chicago announced that they have signed the following 22 undrafted free agents:
- Alex Bars, OL (Notre Dame) ($35K of his base salary guaranteed, $5K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter)
- Sam Mustipher, OL (Notre Dame)
- Daryle Banfield, DL (Brown)
- John Baron II, K (San Diego State)
- Matt Betts, LB (Laval)
- Blake Blackmar, OL (Baylor)
- Ian Bunting, TE (California)
- Jomon Dotson, DB (Nevada)
- Clifton Duck, DB (Appalachian State)
- Emanuel Hall, WR (Missouri)
- Jonathan Harris, DL (Lindenwood)
- Chuck Harris, LB (Buffalo)
- Thomas Ives, WR (Colgate)
- Doyin Jibowu, DB (Fort Hays State)
- Joe Lowery, OL (Ohio)
- Lawrence Marshall, DE (Michigan)
- Adarius Pickett, DB (UCLA)
- Dax Raymond, TE (Utah State) ($30K of his base salary guaranteed with a $15K signing bonus, per Wilson on Twitter)
- Ellis Richardson, TE (Georgia Southern)
- Josh Simmons, DB (Limestone)
- Marquez Tucker, OL (Southern Utah)
- John Wirtel, LS (Kansas)
The Bears opted for a lot of small school players, adding guys from places like Limestone, Colgate, Fort Hays State, Lindenwood, and Laval. The signings of Bars and Mustipher are notable because they have a connection to the coaching staff. Both players were coached by current Bears offensive line coach Harry Hiestand when they were at Notre Dame. The Bears hired Hiestand away from Notre Dame before last season, and he knows what he’s getting in these two players.
It’s also notable that the Bears signed a kicker, because the job will be up for grabs in training camp. Chicago is looking to replace Cody Parkey after his disastrous 2018 season, and they need someone consistent. Baron was a solid college kicker at SDSU with a big leg, as his career long was 54 yards, which is pretty impressive for a college kicker. The Bears already have former AAF kicker Elliott Fry and former Tulsa kicker Redford Jones on the roster, so they’re clearly planning on having a battle royale kicking competition this offseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/19
Here are today’s minor moves, which feature several recognizable signal-callers:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: P Ryan Winslow
- Waived: K Cole Murphy
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Dejon Allen, Willie Beavers, WR Cyril Grayson
Denver Broncos
- Waived: QB Garrett Grayson, WR Chad Hansen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: NT Darius Kilgo
- Released: RB Kerwynn Williams
- Waived: OL Jarron Jones
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: LB Josh Carraway
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Jawill Davis
New York Jets
- Claimed: QB Luke Falk
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: S Delvon Randall (signed as UDFA with partially-guaranteed contract on May 1)
Bears Hire Brad Childress
The Bears have hired longtime NFL coach Brad Childress as a senior offensive assistant, the club announced today.
Childress, 62, was hired by Chicago as an offensive analyst last February, but never actually worked for the team after being tabbed as the Atlanta Legends’ head coach in the Alliance of American Football. One month prior to the Legends’ first game, Childress abruptly stepped down as the franchise’s coach, leading to speculation he was nearing an NFL return.
The Browns were mentioned as a possible landing spot for Childress had they hired Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanksi as head coach, but the Bears always seemed like the most likely destination. Indeed, reports in early March indicated Childress was likely to re-join Chicago’s staff under Matt Nagy, with whom Childress enjoys a close relationship as a result of the pair’s time in Kansas City.
Childress, who’s served as OC for the Eagles, Browns, and Chiefs, spent five years (2006-10) as the head coach of the Vikings, compiling a record of 39-35.
Bears Meet With Kayvon Webster
The Bears will host free agent cornerback Kayvon Webster on Wednesday, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Even after drafting two cornerbacks last week, the Bears are apparently still in the hunt for secondary help. 
Webster joined the Texans late last offseason but played in just two games thanks to multiple injuries and two separate IR stints. Webster, who was lauded for his talent while buried behind big name corners in Denver, has failed to take the next leap forward in his career. Many expected big things when he reunited with Wade Phillips as a member of the Rams in 2017, but he failed to make a major impact in eleven games before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear.
The Bears project to start Prince Amukamara and Kyle Fuller at outside cornerback with new addition Buster Skrine manning the slot. After those three, the Bears have veteran Sherrick McManis, Kevin Toliver, John Franklin, Michael Joseph, Jonathon Mincy, and two late-round draft picks in Kansas State’s Duke Shelley and Valdosta State’s Stephen Denmark.