Bears Have ‘Significant’ Interest in Rising Star LB: Report

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Bears head coach Matt Eberflus could reunite with one of his former Colts linebackers in 2023 free agency.

The Chicago Bears may have their sights set on one of Matt Eberflus’ former Indianapolis Colts linebackers as a replacement for All-Pro Roquan Smith.

According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz of The Score, sources have told him that Colts inside linebacker Bobby Okereke has a “significant market” ahead in 2023 free agency with numerous suitors interested in signing him, including the rebuilding Bears.

“Colts [free agent] LB Bobby Okereke was a trending name in Indy [for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine,” Schultz tweeted. “Lots of teams like him and sources say he has a significant market with several suitors — including the Bears and [Carolina] Panthers. I’m told Okereke could sign a deal in the $12 million to $14 million range per season.”

Okereke would certainly be an ideal fit for head coach Matt Eberflus’ defense, especially considering Eberflus had a hand in developing the 26-year-old off-ball linebacker as his defensive coordinator for the first three seasons of his career. He finished with a career-high 151 tackles and six tackles for the Colts in 2022 as one of the lone bright spots of their defense and finished as one of the better run-stopping linebackers in the league, receiving a better run defense grade (79.3) from Pro Football Focus than Smith (77.0).

The Bears can begin negotiating with free agents when the NFL’s legal tampering period opens at noon ET next Monday, March 13. According to Over the Cap, they are also set to have about $86.9 million in effective cap space for the 2023 league year, which officially begins at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 15.

Bobby Okereke Could Be a Steadying Piece for Bears

The Bears have some major roster needs to address during the 2023 offseason, and while linebacker isn’t as significant of a need as wide receiver or offensive and defensive linemen, an addition like Okereke could be a steadying piece for a defense that allowed the second-most rushing yards (157.3) and most points (27.2) in the league in 2022.

Okereke has appeal beyond his obvious fit for Eberflus’ scheme. He has been a highly efficient, on-the-rise linebacker over his years in Indianapolis, playing his best ball at the middle linebacker spot but moving to the weakside in 2022 and handling the role well. He has also been remarkably healthy throughout his career, missing just three games and playing a total of 3,199 defensive snaps during his first four seasons.

Having that combination of production, consistency and availability would be huge for Chicago and would free up the Bears to move standout rookie Jack Sanborn to the strongside linebacker spot, where his skill set is more naturally suited.

Based on Schultz’s information, the Bears also wouldn’t have to break the bank to lock down Okereke within his desired range of $12 million to $14 million. Even if they went with the higher end and signed him for $14 million per year, it would still be less than $6 million per year than Smith ended up getting from the Baltimore Ravens — a five-year deal worth a total of $100 million with $60 million in guarantees.

Will Bears Extend LB Nicholas Morrow for 2023 Season?

One other way the Bears could fortify their linebacker corps for next season is to re-sign veteran Nicholas Morrow to a new contract before he hits 2023 free agency next week. The 27-year-old played mostly in the strongside role for the Bears last season and hit career-high marks in both total tackles (116) and tackles for a loss (11), proving to be a quality investment on a one-year contract worth just $2.5 million.

The Bears would probably have to pay a bit more to retain Morrow’s services in 2023 and could be asked to make it a multi-year deal instead of another one-off, but the investment — especially given Chicago’s cap situation — would be well worth it to bring another productive linebacker back into the fold alongside Sanborn. Right now, the only other linebacker aside from Sanborn set to return for the 2023 season is Sterling Weatherford, a fellow 2022 undrafted rookie who played only special teams in 2022.

According to Spotrac, Morrow could have a calculated market value of about $3.9 million per season, while Bleacher Report projects him to sign a two-year, $9 million contract in free agency after a solid first season with the Bears.