3 Bears Making it Easy for Chicago to Say Goodbye in 2025
With a disappointing Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions, it's time for the Chicago Bears to start thinking about the future.
The Bears are likely looking at an early offseason (again) as they leave Week 13 with a 4-8 record, good enough for last in the NFC North. General manager Ryan Poles will have to make some serious offseason moves if he wants to end the franchise's playoff drought and the process began after last week's loss with the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus.
Having said that, the Bears will need to do more than fire an underperforming coach if they want to turn things around. Several players have also failed to meet expectations this season and if a turnaround is in the cards, Poles must trim the fat in the coming months.
With changes looming on the horizon, here are three Bears who've made it easy to say goodbye in 2025.
1. Gerald Everett, TE
Gerald Everett arrived in Chicago over the offseason intending to be a reliable pass-catching presence for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. After all, the veteran tight end had hit the 400-yard mark in each of his last five seasons while also racking up 19 touchdowns across his near-decade-long career.
But instead of being a consistent target for his first-year signal-caller, Everett has been invisible more often than not.
Even though he's yet to miss a game, the former South Alabama product only has seven catches for 30 receiving yards without a touchdown. He's also been limited to just 26% of offensive snaps, which is his lowest share since he played 29% as a rookie with the LA Rams in 2017.
Everett's performance is awful on its own, but it's even worse knowing that he's making $5.46 million this season. His salary jumps up to $6.5 million in 2025, however, the Bears might want to reconsider bringing him back if he can't step up down the stretch — especially when they can save $5.5 million by waiving or trading him at any point in the offseason, per Spotrac.
At the end of the day, Everett is 30 years old and his best days appear to be in the rearview. It's best for the Browns to just cut their losses and say goodbye to the veteran pass-catcher in the offseason, eventually replacing him with someone who can make more of an impact.