Chicago Bears 2023 Free Agency Profile: WR Byron Pringle

The 2023 NFL offseason is going to be a monumental period for the Chicago Bears, who have plenty of holes to fill but a lot of capital to do so.

One area that must be strengthened is at wide receiver. Last year, new general manager Ryan Poles took a laid-back approach to addressing certain needs, wide receiver included.

Poles didn’t make any splash moves, but instead signed guys like Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis and Byron Pringle to short-term deals. This was more of a punt on 2022 than anything, but now going into the 2023 offseason, Poles has decisions to make on whether any of those guys are worth bringing back.

Already making a decision on St. Brown, Poles now must turn his attention to Pettis, Pringle and last year’s trade acquisition, N’Keal Harry. For now, let’s focus on Pringle.

Should the Chicago Bears re-sign wide receiver Byron Pringle?

Pringle originally signed a one-year deal worth $4.1 million last offseason. It’s pretty incredible to believe he got paid that kind of money to cut his 2021 totals by about 75 percent. Sure, injury had something to do with it as well. But, even when healthy, Pringle was rarely used last year.

In total, Pringle caught 10 passes on 16 targets for just 135 yards. He did snag two touchdowns. But, compare that to a 42-catch, 568-yard season a year ago, and that’s far from what the Bears expected out of their free agent signing.

The 29-year-old Pringle could definitely find a home elsewhere on a contender looking for one more veteran to fill out their roster. However, with the way the Bears’ depth chart looks right now, it’s tough to believe they could bring him back.

Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool are the top two, for right now. Then there’s St. Brown and last year’s rookie Venus Jones Jr. Chicago will likely go out and get themselves a true number one receiver whether it be in the draft or by way of a veteran.

To think Pringle would come back as the sixth wide receiver just doesn’t make sense. The Bears could get younger and find a much more higher ceiling elsewhere.

It was a short-lived experiment, but most would agree that Pringle is one and done in Chicago after 2022.