One of the more interesting stories heading into the Chicago Bears' 2026 offseason is how the receiver position is going to look when the new season begins. Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze appear to be the only safe roster spots at the position, with DJ Moore already being a speculated offseason trade target. On top of this, the Bears have decisions to make on Devin Duvernay and Olamide Zaccheaus, who are both scheduled to hit free agency at the start of the new league year. This is an especially interesting decision when it comes to Zaccheaus based on past production.
The pass catcher had 506 receiving yards in the 2024 season as a key contributor to a Washington Commanders team that would make the NFC Championship. This gave Chicago every reason to believe Zaccheaus would be valued as depth; however, the veteran didn't live up to expectations, offering only 313 receiving yards and struggling to hold onto the football. Zaccheaus had five drops on the season, the same total as the 2024 season.
Drops have been an early point of offseason emphasis for head coach Ben Johnson. Chicago Bears writer Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "Bears coach Ben Johnson says eliminating drops by receivers is a major emphasis going into the offseason work and next training camp."
This would seemingly rule out any thought of bringing back Zaccheaus, who already appeared to be a long shot as a potential offseason re-signing.
The Bears Make It Clear Olamide Zaccheaus Has Little Chance of Returning for 2026 Season
This was only magnified by a message on X posted by Caleb Williams Fan Club, which shared a piece of Johnson's presser with the head coach offering simply, "We gotta do a better job catching the football next year…”
This leaves the Bears zero reason to consider a potential reunion with a player who not only underwhelmed when it came to his expected role in Chicago but has had 10 drops over the past two seasons. This isn't acceptable as the Bears look to continue to build around Caleb Williams.
There is also the fact that more than once, Chicago greatly reduced the pass catcher's role due to performance or a lack of trust. This was the case in both of the Bears' playoff games, with Zaccheaus only playing a combined 37 offensive snaps in the final two games of the year.
Chicago is going to turn the page away from the receiver and find a depth piece that is more reliable and can be handed a bit more trust from the Bears coaching staff. It is worth noting here as well that the receiver's Pro Football Focus grade points out the struggles, offering only a 54.8 grade that ranked Zaccheaus 76th out of only 81 qualifiers. All of this combines to point to the unavoidable fact that there simply is no reasonable path to re-signing the receiver for the 2026 season.