The Chicago Bears have been involved in the free-agent mix ever since the market opened with Monday's tampering period. As several veterans left the Windy City for fresh starts, the Bears added a handful of new names to next year's roster, including wide receiver and kick/punt returner Kalif Raymond, who's spent the last five seasons playing for the rival Detroit Lions.
Although he'll likely see opportunities as a weapon in Caleb Williams' arsenal, the Bears likely signed Raymond because of his special teams impact. There's a good chance that his history (including two second-team All-Pro appearances) will position him to be Chicago's go-to guy on kickoffs, which could leave someone like Josh Blackwell with a smaller role come September.
Kalif Raymond's Arrival Is Bad News for Josh Blackwell's Bears Future
Blackwell began his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2022, eventually joining the Bears via waivers before his rookie campaign began. He saw quite a bit of defensive action early in his career (256 snaps from 2022 to 2024); however, last season, he became a full-time special teamer by playing 71% (284 snaps) of opportunities.
The increased workload saw Blackwell record a career-high 18 kick returns, converting those chances into 455 yards (25.3 yards per). That performance gave Bears fans hope that he might be in line for an expanded workload in September, especially after leading returner Devin Duvernay hit free agency this week.
Instead of having a wide-open opportunity to challenge for the No. 1 returner job, Blackwell is forced to watch Raymond crush his dreams. The former Lion racked up 1,485 punt return yards, 252 kick return yards, and three touchdowns in his role back in Detroit, making it easy to see why Chicago might have more faith in the more experienced option.
Of course, this isn't to say that Blackwell won't be a factor next season. His improvements as a returner shouldn't go unnoticed, and he should be the primary candidate to handle the punts/kicks that don't go Raymond's way. He could also be in line for more snaps in the secondary after watching defensive backs Nahshon Wright, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Kevin Byard, and Jaquan Brisker leave town.
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower is more than familiar with Blackwell, considering that they arrived in Chicago during the 2022 offseason. If he wants a bigger role, the versatile 26-year-old must use that connection to land himself more playing time before Raymond beats him to the punch.
Needless to say, the Bears' special teams situation is set up to be interesting, leaving something worth monitoring for fans as the offseason continues.