Getty Bears wide receiver Dante Pettis.
The Chicago Bears are bringing back a familiar face to add depth to their 2024 receiving corps, signing veteran Dante Pettis to a one-year contract.
Pettis made seven starts and played in every game for the Bears during the 2022 season, catching 19 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. The team originally planned for him to return for the 2023 season, but he suffered a season-ending injury in training camp and landed on injured reserve before August’s 53-man cut deadline.
Now, nearly seven months later, Pettis is getting another chance with the Bears. While the 28-year-old has just 71 career receptions for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns over five seasons, he is still the third-most experienced receiver on the Bears’ current 2024 roster behind starter DJ Moore and the newly acquired Keenan Allen. He is also a return man.
Pettis is the eighth free agent the Bears have added since the start of the 2024 league year on March 13. They have also signed deals with running back D’Andre Swift, tight end Gerald Everett, center Coleman Shelton, safety Jonathan Owens, quarterback Brett Rypien, offensive tackle Matt Pryor and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga.
Bears Drafting Rookie WR Continues to Make Sense
The Bears have added two wide receivers in the past 24 hours. In addition to signing Pettis, they also traded a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for Allen, a six-time Pro Bowler with more than 10,000 career receiving yards to his name. Now, they have six receivers lined up for the 2024 season, including 2023 fourth-round pick Tyler Scott, 2022 third-rounder Velus Jones Jr. and veteran Collin Johnson.
Even still, the Bears have plenty of motivation to invest in another receiver in the NFL draft. Moore and Allen are high-qualities starters and Scott has shown some upside, but the other three receivers are far from roster locks and could benefit from having more young competition pushing them for their jobs, especially the almost-bust Jones.
The 2024 class is also relatively deep at the wide receiver position. The Bears might not be interested in taking a pass-catcher with the No. 9 overall pick after trading for Allen, but they should still have quality options on the board when they pick again in the third and fourth rounds, perhaps Washington’s Jalen McMillan or USC’s Brenden Rice.
Will Bears Sign Another Free Agent WR Before Draft?
The Bears had been trying to make a splash at wide receiver for the past few days. Per Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna, they had made a “similar” contract offer to Gabe Davis before he signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, the Bears took advantage of the Chargers’ brutal salary-cap situation and cut a deal for a more proven threat in Allen, an impact move they needed after losing Darnell Mooney.
Could the Bears still sign another veteran free agent, though?
The Bears are unlikely to spend significant money on another receiver, which probably rules out Mike Williams, Michael Thomas or Odell Beckham Jr. as options. Experienced veterans willing to sign one-year value deals might interest them, though. K.J. Osborn or Josh Reynolds could fit the bill as could the recently released Hunter Renfrow.
Signing another veteran would also help the Bears account for the fact that they now just have four total draft picks and likely cannot use multiple picks on receivers. General manager Ryan Poles could still trade back from one or multiple times and land more picks in the later rounds, but he would be wise to hedge his bets considering he will likely have a new franchise quarterback coming in by way of the No. 1 overall pick.
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