The Bears brought in one of the NFL’s biggest group of undrafted rookie free agents after having only five selections in the draft itself.
The moves haven’t been made official yet, but Ryan Pace and the front office apparently had stronger interest in prospects at one position above the others.
The team has tentatively agreed to terms with three tight ends, and two of them have quite a bit of guaranteed money coming their way compared to most undrafted players.
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The $45,000 guaranteed to Utah State tight end Dax Raymond shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as one of the more highly touted undrafted free agent signings.
Pro Football Focus had him as one of their top 10 tight ends in the draft, and Dane Brugler from The Athletic ranked him 14th with a sixth-round grade.
The guaranteed money for Ian Bunting is the more notable move for an under-the-radar prospect with very little production in his career.
NFL
The 6-foot-7 tight end was used mostly as a blocker at Michigan before transferring to California for his last year of college football and catching 18 passes for 195 yards.
The Bears evidently saw a need to add more depth at the tight end position that had only three veterans under contract entering last weekend.
Matt Nagy likes to heavily utilize the position in his offense, leaving the door open for an undrafted rookie like Raymond or Bunting to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.