When the legal tampering window opened up last week, the Chicago Bears saw a mass exodus in their safety room. The hope was that Chicago would be able to retain maybe one or two guys, but that wasn’t in the cards for the Bears.
Kevin Byard signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots. Meanwhile, Jaquan Brisker inked a one-year pact with the Pittsburgh Steelers, C.J. Gardner-Johnson picked up a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills, and Jonathan Owens received a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts.
Thankfully, the Bears didn’t sit on their hands. They quickly signed Coby Bryant to a three-year, $40 million deal and then gave Cam Lewis a two-year, $6 million contract. Bryant gives Chicago the perfect replacement for Byard, while Lewis provides versatility as he can play free safety, the slot, and in the box.
Needless to say, Chicago needs more depth as the current options behind those two guys aren’t great. Therefore, one free agent who could fill multiple needs in the secondary and who Chicago saw twice last season is Avonte Maddox.
Avonte Maddox Would Be a Perfect Bargain Bin Signing for Bears
Maddox spent the 2025 season with the Lions on a one-year deal. Detroit asked him to play a lot of safety late in the year due to injuries, despite him spending most of his career as a nickel back. Much to everyone’s surprise, the veteran defensive back did quite well lining up at safety.
In the last four games of the season, Maddox had 22 combined tackles, four pass deflections, and an interception. His lone interception came against the Bears in Week 18. In terms of his coverage skills, the versatile defender did not look out of place. Maddox only allowed nine completions (14 targets) for 119 yards and a touchdown, and had an 85.1 passer rating against.
Based on his performance in Detroit, it seemed like a no-brainer that he would be back with the Lions. However, that hasn’t happened yet as the Lions signed a younger version of Maddox in Christian Izien.
Maddox Wouldn't Break Chicago's Bank
According to Spotrac, Maddox’s market value is a one-year, $1.9 million deal. That is excellent value for a defensive back that can line up at multiple spots.Â
Looking at the Bears’ current backups, Maddox would be an instant upgrade over Gerarrivus Owens (who spent the entire 2025 season on the practice squad), Elijah Hicks at safety, and Josh Blackwell (core special teamer) at nickel.
Now, the Bears don’t have cap space ($355,563, per OverTheCap) currently to fit in a potential Maddox signing. Chicago would have to cut someone from the 90-man roster, such as Roschon Johnson, which would net the Bears $1.15M in cap savings ($192K in dead cap), according to OTC
The longer Maddox sits on the open market, the more likely someone will eventually snatch him up. Therefore, the Bears must consider making a move for the veteran, as he’ll fill two needs and can easily step in if someone were to get hurt.