Head coach Ben Johnson has turned the Chicago Bears around in no time. Now, everybody's paying attention and keeping tabs on what's going on in the Windy City, and that means that star free agents will also want to join the party.
That might be the case with running back Breece Hall. The New York Jets star RB was watching the Bears during their close loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and he took to social media to gush about Chicago's offensive execution:
"Elite Operation from bears, free play free TD," the Iowa State product wrote on X. Of course, it didn't take long before the fans started speculating and flooding his profile with pleas to join the team in the offseason.
Should the Bears Consider Signing Breece Hall?
Earlier in the season, Hall was one of the prime trade candidates in the league, with some fans hoping that the Bears would be in on the action. The Jets were losing, they had a running back committee, and he was going to be a free agent. With D'Andre Swift struggling early and Kyle Monangai barely being involved, he seemed like a natural fit for Chicago.
Fast forward to today, and, just like Johnson said, this team just needed more time together to get the running game going. Monangai has turned the corner in the past two months, and Swift has also revived his career.
That being said, Hall is two years younger than the 26-year-old Swift, and he's also been a much more productive player for most of his career. Their numbers are quite similar this season, with Hall running for 1,065 yards and four touchdowns on 4.4 yards per carry and Swift logging 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns on 4.9 yards per attempt. However, the Bears' offense is clearly much more prolific as a whole, making it interesting to see what Hall could do under Johnson's guidance.
Even so, as much as Hall might be a better player, the Bears might not have many incentives to sign him now. Cutting ties with Swift would save $7.5 million in cap space, per Spotrac, and signing Hall would require giving him at least $10 million per season. That's not a major difference, but with Monangai also there and looking to get a bigger role in the future, Hall might not be necessary.
Of course, a lot can change until the start of the upcoming campaign, and the Bears might rather have Hall for the long run as opposed to keeping Swift on an expiring contract. For now, this team can only rejoice in the fact that everybody's keeping tabs on the Bears now.