Bears Release WR Markus Wheaton
Chicago is cutting bait with several of their 2017 free agents. The Bears have officially cut wideout Markus Wheaton. We heard earlier today that the receiver was likely to be cut (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter)). Wheaton was scheduled to carry a $5.75MM cap hit, but the Bears released him with just $750K in dead money.
The Bears have also announced the release of quarterback Mike Glennon and cornerback Marcus Cooper. We heard last month that the organization was going to move on from Glennon, and the veteran has already agreed to a deal with the Cardinals.
After adding Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel to the wide receiver stable, the Bears can afford to part with Wheaton, who was part of a failed 2017 free agent class for general manager Ryan Pace. Chicago added Glennon, Cooper, tight end Dion Sims, safety Quintin Demps, and Wheaton last offseason, but none panned out during their first Windy City campaign.
Wheaton, 27, managed only 51 receiving yards for the second consecutive season. Injuries limited him to just 11 games, but he only put up three receptions on the year. In three of his five NFL campaigns, Wheaton has posted six receptions or fewer. Defenders will point to Wheaton’s 40+ catch seasons in 2014 and 2015, but Wheaton hasn’t been productive in some time, and could struggle to find a deal on the open market.
Following a career-year with the Cardinals in 2016, Cooper disappointed this past season in Chicago. The cornerback finished the campaign with 18 tackles and three passes defended in 15 games (four starts).
Buccaneers Sign Mitch Unrein
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign former Bears defensive end Mitch Unrein, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth $3.5MM annually, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
In 12 games this year, Unrein recorded a career-high 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks for Chicago. His season ended prematurely after he aggravated a nagging knee injury in a late season game against the 49ers. The 30-year-old previously had stints with the Chargers and Broncos.
Pro Football Focus, which had Unrein listed as an interior defender, gave him a career-high 83.9 score for his work in 2017. At the time of his injury, that placed him No. 29 among all interior defenders. Unrein will compete with Noah Spence, Pat O’Connor, and Davonte Lambert for snaps behind Robert Ayers and William Gholston.
Bears, Browns Expected To Pursue Morgan Burnett
While many of the top free agents on this year’s market have agreed to terms with teams, the safety contingent still has some high-end options unattached. One of those players has drawn interest from two cash-rich suitors.
Both the Bears and Browns are expected to make pitches to longtime Packers safety Morgan Burnett, Ryan Wood of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
The Packers did have conversations at the Combine about what it would take to retain Burnett, and they’ve learned they could be priced out of the race. Burnett’s asking price is believed to be a deal north of $8.5MM per year. This would be the 29-year-old defender’s third NFL contract; he just wrapped up a four-year, $24.75MM deal.
Burnett has started all 102 games he’s played in Green Bay since being a 2010 third-rounder. The Browns already have acquired a Packers defensive back, and they’re planning to play Damarious Randall as a safety. They drafted Jabrill Peppers last year. Burnett obviously has far more experience than both of them. The Bears received top-flight play from Adrian Amos last year and have intriguing second-year talent Eddie Jackson on their back line as well, so their interest is somewhat curious.
Wood reports, however, that the Packers aren’t going to bow out of this without exploring a retention scenario. This is partially due to HaHa Clinton-Dix’s 2017 struggles. But Burnett could well follow Micah Hyde and Casey Hayward out of Green Bay soon, with the Browns and Bears holding the second- and seventh-most cap space as of Wednesday morning.
Bears Interested In P Kevin Huber
We have punter news. The Bears have spoken to Bengals free agent Kevin Huber, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter).
The Bears’ own punter, Pat O’Donnell, is a pending free agent. It’s unclear whether O’Donnell is still in their plans, or if they are just safeguarding themselves in the event of O’Donnell’s departure.
Huber has been the Bengals’ punter ever since entering the league in 2009. In 2014, he earned his first and only Pro Bowl selection. Last year, he set a new career watermark with 46.6 yards per boot.
Bears To Re-Sign LB Sam Acho
The Bears have agreed to re-sign linebacker Sam Acho to a two-year deal, as his brother (and former NFL player) Emmanuel Acho first reported (Twitter link). The news was later confirmed by Acho’s agents at SportsTrust Advisors (Twitter link).
Acho has typically spent his NFL tenure as a rotational edge rusher and special teams player, and but he garnered the most playing time of his career in 2017. Last year, Acho’s third in Chicago, he started 12 games and played on 60% of the clubs’ defensive snaps. In that time, he posted 27 tackles, three sacks, and one pass defensed.
The 29-year-old Acho played on a minimum salary benefit deal in 2017, but that won’t be the case during the upcoming campaign as such pacts cannot exceed one year.
Bears To Sign QB Chase Daniel
The Bears are expected to sign quarterback Chase Daniel to a two-year deal worth $10MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes $7MM guaranteed and it can void after one season. 
The void clause, as Rapoport puts it, gives Daniel options in the event that he “becomes this year’s Nick Foles.” If Mitch Trubisky gets injured and Daniel is a breakout star, he can become a free agent in 2019 and cash in.
This time last year, the Bears signed Mike Glennon to a three-year, $45MM deal with the notion that he would be the team’s starter. Weeks later, the Bears selected Mitch Trubisky high in the 2017 draft, which radically changed everything. Glennon got the hook after one month and Trubisky did not cede the starting job the rest of the way. Mark Sanchez was the only other quarterback rostered by the Bears last year and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
This time around, things are a bit more cut and dry. Trubisky is entrenched as the upcoming starter and Daniel is here to mentor and serve as the backup in the event of injury. Glennon has already moved on since his release and has signed to back up Sam Bradford with the Cardinals.
Daniel, 31, spent last season backing up Drew Brees with the Saints and has also had stops with the Eagles and Chiefs. He has two career starts, which both came while with the Chiefs from 2013-15. The Saints originally signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2010 out of Missouri. Daniel has completed 65.4% of his passes in 78 career attempts, with a touchdown and an interception.
Cardinals Sign Mike Glennon
The Cardinals have signed Mike Glennon, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Peter Schrager of NFL.com (on Twitter) had first reported that the organization was going to sign the quarterback. The deal is worth $8MM over two years.
[RELATED: Cardinals Sign Sam Bradford]
Glennon now projects to be the No. 2 quarterback on the Cardinals’ depth chart, behind the newly-signed Sam Bradford. Bradford played in just two games for the Vikings last season, so the Cardinals placed considerable value on their backup QB spot. Glennon flamed out in his one month as the Bears’ starter last year, but he was still among the best available QB2 types in this year’s market.
Last year, Glennon inked a three-year, $45MM free agent contract with the Bears after receiving interest from multiple teams. This year, the Cardinals were the only team linked to the 6’7″ signal caller.
Bears To Re-Sign CB Prince Amukamara
The Bears are re-signing cornerback Prince Amukamara, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Amukamara will collect $27MM over a three-year term, while roughly $18MM is guaranteed, per Graziano (Twitter links).
Amukamara has long been a starting-caliber NFL cornerback, but teams have thus far been reluctant to commit to the 28-year-old. After beginning his career with the Giants, Amukamara inked a series of successive one-year deals with the Jaguars and Bears in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Once considered an injury risk, Amukamara has dealt with minor ailments over the past two seasons but has appeared in 28 of 32 possible games during that time. Although he hasn’t posted an interception since 2015, Amukamara graded as the No. 41 corner among 141 qualifiers a season ago, per Pro Football Focus. Football Outsiders wasn’t as fond of the former first-round pick’s work, as Amukamara ranked as bottom-10 CB in success rate.
Chicago’s pass defense was a strength in 2017, as the unit ranked 14th in DVOA. As such, the Bears have shown a willingness to bring much of their secondary back for another run. Not only have they re-upped Amukamara, but No. 1 cornerback Kyle Fuller was assigned the transition tag, which could be enough to ward off potential suitors.
Most of the work the Bears have done on the first day of free agency has come on the other side of the ball, however. Chicago has landed wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, plus tight end Trey Burton, in an effort to upgrade quarterback Mitch Trubisky‘s weaponry.
Bears To Sign WR Taylor Gabriel
The Bears’ offense is looking downright scary. Chicago has agreed to sign wide receiver Taylor Gabriel to a four-year deal, according to former NFL player Andrew Hawkins (on Twitter). The news has been confirmed by Peter Schrager of NFL.com (Twitter link). 
The four-year deal is worth $26MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes $14MM guaranteed with a maximum value of $28MM.
Earlier this month, Gabriel bid farewell to the Falcons as he anticipated better offers to come in from other teams. He found the proposal he was seeking from Chicago, which has changed its offensive attack for the better.
In 2016, Gabriel put himself on the map with 35 receptions for 379 yards and six touchdowns. Last year, those numbers dropped off a bit with 33 receptions for 378 yards and one score. Still, he brings lots of speed to the Bears’ passing game, which also now includes free agent pickups Allen Robinson and Trey Burton.
After settling for bargain buys last year in the form of Markus Wheaton and Kendall Wright, the Bears committed to serious shopping this year. Chicago has been extremely active in free agency thus far, allocating much of its cap space to helping a passing game that injuries decimated last season.
The Bears were without Cameron Meredith and Kevin White last season, with tight end Zach Miller going down with a scary injury as well. The team tendered Meredith, an RFA, at the original-round level and still has White under contract. But Robinson, Burton and now Gabriel are going to play key roles in the Windy City.
Once waived by the Browns, Gabriel then caught on as a key target for the NFC champion Falcons in 2016. The six touchdowns Gabriel caught that year, though, represent three-fourths of Gabriel’s TDs over a four-year career. His per-catch average plummeted by five yards, to 11.5, in 2017. But he wasn’t the only Falcon to produce worse numbers in Steve Sarkisian‘s offense compared to Kyle Shanahan‘s.
Now, Mitch Trubisky will have a chance to develop a rapport with several playmakers with higher-end potential.
[RELATED: Bears Depth Chart]
Lions To Sign LB Christian Jones
Former Bears linebacker Christian Jones plans to sign a two-year deal with the Lions, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Jones’ new contract is a two-year deal worth $7.75MM, including a $2.8MM signing bonus, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Jones had spent the previous four seasons with the Bears.
Jones, 27, made 11 starts for Chicago last season. On the year, he racked up 84 total tackles and two sacks with two passes defended. Jones graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 64-ranked linebacker last season. That’s not excellent, but Tahir Whitehead and Jarrad Davis were the only Lions LBs to finish higher.
The intra-NFC North defection will represent more turnover for the Bears at inside linebacker this offseason. The team already cut Jerrell Freeman, whom Jones replaced in the starting lineup. Freeman initially replaced Jones after he signed with Chicago in 2016, with Jones — a former UDFA — starting 13 games for the Bears in 2015. He returned to the first unit by making 11 starts last season and now figures to play a prominent role in Detroit.