The Chicago Bears are one week away from the NFL free agency negotiation period that starts before the new league year begins on March 17th. One position that the Bears desperately need to address is the wide receiver position, as Darnell Mooney and Dazz Newsome are the only receivers currently on the roster for 2022. Similar to last year, Chicago may be at high risk of being unable to fully address the position in free agency due to luck and external circumstances working against them.

Trying To Acquire Free Agent Wide Receivers Has Been an Uphill Battle For The Bears

The wide receiver position has been in flux since the 2020 season for Chicago. Heading into the 2020 season, the Bears had a proven group of wide receivers, including Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Cordarrelle Patterson, Anthony Miller, and Javon Wims. After losing Patterson to free agency last year, and with Miller and Wims being let go due to character issues, Chicago tried to reset at the position. Due to salary cap restraints brought on by the pandemic and high-priced contracts, former general manager Ryan Pace had few options to revamp the receiver position. Pace made a significant push to sign former Lions Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay, the top free agent at the position. The Bears would lose out on Golladay as he chose to sign with the New York Giants for a four-year deal worth 76 million dollars. Had Chicago been in a healthier spot with their salary cap, the team would have had a very strong chance to sign the wide receiver, who attended college at Northern Illinois University.

Had the Bears signed Golladay, they would have had one of the best wide receiver trios in the NFL with Robinson and Mooney. Pace's goal was to have a receiver group similar to what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had in 2020 with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown. Instead of Golladay, Chicago would sign receivers Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd. Although Golladay had a terrible 2021 season with the Giants due to injuries and poor coaching, it would have been interesting to see what he could have done with the Bears. Byrd and Goodwin flashed in limited roles with the Bears as both receivers caught touchdowns that were 49 yards or longer. Unfortunately, with new general manager Ryan Poles, it appears unlikely neither receiver will return for the 2022 season.

Had the Bears been able to sign Golladay last offseason, the team would have been in a better position to fill the needs at the wide receiver position this offseason. The former Lions' wide receiver would potentially still be under contract with Mooney, giving the Bears two proven starting pass-catchers. Having two starters would enable Poles to fill the remaining vacancies with a mid-tier free agent or a mid-level draft selection in April's Draft.

Bears Will Have To Get Creative To Find A Talented Wide Receiver This Offseason

The main goal of revamping the wide receiver position for Chicago this offseason is to ensure that second-year quarterback Justin Fields has the most offensive weapons surrounding him to succeed. The issue that will play the Bears' ability to address the position this offseason will be a lack of draft selections and a dwindling number of quality wide receivers that were expected to be available in free agency.

Heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, the Bears will only have five draft selections due to other draft selections being used in previous trades negotiated by Pace. In addition to the low amount of draft selections, several receivers projected to reach free agency have either re-signed or have had the Franchise Tag applied to them by their current NFL team. Several marquee names that the Bears were hoping to show interest in are now no longer available. Top-level receivers such as Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, Michael Gallup, and Mike Williams were all expected to garner interest from the Bears during free agency but are all staying with their current teams. This hurts the Bears' chances of not only finding a top-level free agent but will also create an extremely competitive market with other NFL teams for the free agents that will be available. Chicago could enter a costly bidding war for receivers such as Amari Cooper, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Christian Kirk, leading them to overpay for a free agent.

Poles could look to trade for a top-level wide receiver, but luck is again against the Bears on that front due to the Calvin Ridley suspension. Chicago was expected to heavily pursue a trade for Ridley this offseason before the receiver was suspended for the entire 2022 this week after it was learned he was gambling on NFL games. Other potential trade options for Poles could be Seattle Seahawks wide receivers Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Both appear to be available following Tuesday's trade that sent Seahawks' All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver.

The Bears will have to find a way to get creative over the next few weeks to address the wide receiver position. The worst thing for Fields entering his second season with Chicago would be to have his growth limited due to a lack of talented wide receivers. Poles was hired to succeed where Pace failed the previous few seasons, one of those failures was to find talent at the wide receiver position.