Bears sign Khari Blasingame, Patrick Scales, Dieter Eiselen

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The Bears announced new deals for three players who played with the team in 2022 on Tuesday. Fullback Khari Blasingame is officially back on a two-year contract after his agency reported the deal last week, interior offensive lineman Dieter Eiselen’s one-year deal is also official after Eiselen’s agency announced it in February. The team also agreed to a one-year deal with long snapper Patrick Scales, as was first reported by the Athletic last week.

Blasingame was the first true fullback for the Bears since Michael Burton in 2018, although the team had used other players like Ryan Nall and J.P. Holtz as pseudo-fullbacks more recently. Blasingame played in 16 games for the Bears, primarily as a lead blocker in the Bears’ NFL-best rushing game.

Scales is set to return for his eighth season with the Bears, after the team initially challenged him by bringing in long snapper competition in early 2022. Scales has earned praise from holder Trenton Gill and kicker Cairo Santos for his consistency as a snapper on special teams. His return will allow the entire kicking unit to pick up where they left off last year.

Eiselen keeps some familiar depth on the Bears offensive line. The team initially signed Eiselen as an undrafted free agent in 2020 but he only played limited snaps on special teams in his first two seasons. Eiselen finally saw some playing time on offense towards the end of the 2022 season. First, he played 28 snaps in a rotation with Larry Borom at left guard in Week 16. One week later, Eiselen was pressed into duty at right guard after both Teven Jenkins and Michael Schofield suffered injuries.

In addition to these re-signings, the Bears reportedly agreed to free agent deals with four other players: linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, right guard Nate Davis and defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker. Those deals can become official on Wednesday at 3 p.m. when the new league year begins.

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