The Chicago Bears went right to work on their roster reconstruction on the first day of the 2025 NFL offseason, officially cutting ties with veteran running back Royce Freeman and making a series of other roster moves with 2025 in mind.
According to the team’s official transaction wire, the Bears terminated their contract with Freeman — a practice-squad holdover — on January 6 and signed reserve/future contracts with nine more members of their 2024 practice squad, including third-string quarterback Austin Reed and offensive linemen Theo Benedet and Ricky Stromberg.
The Bears’ decision to move on from Freeman is hardly surprising. They signed him to their practice squad for depth purposes in early December but never elevated him to the game-day roster, choosing instead to trust Darrynton Evans to handle the backup reps. By the end of the season, the Bears had signed Evans to their active roster and regained injured goal-line back Roschon Johnson, putting Freeman in an emergency-only role.
The Bears could still reconsider signing a futures contract with Freeman if the 28-year-old running back has mutual interest in a reunion. Chicago has its top two rushers — including starter D’Andre Swift — under contract for the 2025 season, but a new coach might prefer to have someone with experience around to push them in the offseason.
Freeman has played in 96 career games and rushed for 1,792 yards and 10 touchdowns in stints with four different teams over the first six seasons of his NFL career.
The Bears also signed futures deals with guard Chris Glaser, defensive lineman Jamree Kromah, linebacker Carl Jones, tight end Joel Wilson and wide receivers Samori Toure and John Jackson III on Monday, giving each one of them a chance to potentially stick around on the roster through the offseason and compete in 2025’s training camp.
Will Ricky Stromberg Push for Bears’ 2025 Roster?
A few names stand out in the Bears’ first batch of futures signings. They re-upped with Reed, their latest undrafted rookie quarterback to show promise after finding a viable backup option in Tyson Bagent in 2023. They brought back Jackson, who is best friends with quarterback Caleb Williams, for another shot at cracking the receiver rotation.
That said, Stromberg — an interior offensive lineman with guard and center experience — might be the most compelling name on the list for the Bears looking ahead to 2025.
The Washington Commanders selected Stromberg in the third round (No. 96 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft, impressing former head coach Ron Rivera and ex-general manager Martin Mayhew with his ability to play both guard and center and his overall smarts for the position. Stromberg struggled with injuries throughout his rookie season, though, including a knee injury that forced him to get season-ending surgery in November.
The Commanders then changed front-office and coaching regimes in 2024, bringing in a new bunch of decision-makers with no investment in Stromberg’s development. They signed new centers — Tyler Biadasz and Michael Deiter — in free agency and asked him to instead focus on competing at guard, where they had also signed Nick Allegretti.
Ultimately, Stromberg failed to make the team’s initial 53-man roster after failing to impress the new staff in training camp, but he could benefit from a fresh start with the Bears in 2025. There are also jobs up for grabs with Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton and Matt Pryor — their interior starts for much of 2025 — scheduled to hit free agency.
Maybe the Bears will sign or draft more compelling starter candidates in the months to come, but there are worse ways to start than re-signing a versatile guy like Stromberg.
What’s the Next Move for Bears in 2025 Offseason?
The Bears took their first steps into the 2025 NFL offseason when they announced their reserve/future contract signings on Monday, but they still have several important items to address over the next few months leading up to the start of the 2025 league year at 4 p.m. ET on March 12 — starting with the hiring of their next head football coach.
Reports poured in on Black Monday about the Bears requesting numerous interviews with potential head coaching candidates. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Bears have requested interviews with both of the Detroit Lions coordinators — Ben Johnson on offense and Aaron Glenn on defense — with the Lions on a first-round bye.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter has also reported that the Bears have requested interviews with Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and current Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy — whom the Cowboys would likely only permit to interview if they intended to fire him.
The Bears will have no shortage of candidates for their head coaching job with ample cap space and draft resources and a promising quarterback in Williams in place, but it is the first domino that must fall before they can dive too deeply into building up their 2025 roster — and will likely be their most consequential move of the offseason.
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