The remaining positions were filled on January 16 with various changes: Bill Lazor took over as offensive coordinator after last serving the same role in 2017 and 2018 with the Cincinnati Bengals; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator John DeFilippo was hired as quarterbacks coach; quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone was moved to pass game coordinator; offensive quality control assistant Brian Ginn became assistant special teams coach; defensive assistant Chris Jackson switched to assistant wide receivers coach; and offensive assistant Shane Toub was named defensive quality control coach.[5]

Entering the 2020 offseason, the Bears had 21 players set to become free agents, including two restricted free agents and two exclusive-rights free agents.[19] Free agency officially began on March 18,[20] though teams were not allowed to immediately announce signings due to physical examinations being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.[21]

On April 3, the team picked up linebacker Barkevious Mingo on a one-year contract; the ex-first rounder spent much of his only season with the Houston Texans on special teams.[12] Two weeks later, former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Jason Spriggs and Nevada kicker Ramiz Ahmed were signed to one-year deals.[9] On April 28 and 29, Chicago gave one-year deals to defensive tackle John Jenkins and receiver/return specialist Trevor Davis, respectively. Jenkins played eight games for the Bears in 2017, including one start, and recorded eight tackles.[31] Davis played for the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins in 2019 as a receiver and return specialist, including catching four passes for 42 yards in the Raiders' win over the Bears that year.[32]

Safety Tashaun Gipson was signed to a one-year deal on May 1. Released by the Texans earlier in the week, he recorded 51 tackles and three interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) in 2019 before being placed on injured reserve.[33] Three days later, the Bears added receiver Ted Ginn Jr., also on a one-year agreement; the 13-year veteran caught 30 passes for 421 yards and two touchdowns for the New Orleans Saints in 2019.[34]

Departures

On January 5, guard Kyle Long announced his retirement on Twitter after playing his entire career with the Bears; he struggled with injuries in his later years, including being placed on injured reserve in 2019.[35]

The Bears' first cuts took place on February 21 with receiver Taylor Gabriel and cornerback Prince Amukamara; both players suffered injuries in 2019.[36] Linebacker Leonard Floyd was released on March 17; the former first-round pick recorded 154 tackles, 18.5 sacks, an interception, and three fumble recoveries in four seasons with the Bears, but had just three sacks in 2019.[37]

After free agency began, various Bears players whose contracts expired left for other teams. On March 20, a trio of Bears departed with safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix joining the Dallas Cowboys, while quarterback Chase Daniel and defensive lineman Nick Williams went to the Detroit Lions. In his lone season with the Bears, Clinton-Dix recorded 78 tackles and two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown; as a backup in Chicago, Daniel started three games; Williams recorded six sacks in 2019.[8] A week later, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski joined the Las Vegas Raiders after recording career bests in tackles (76), sacks (three), and pass breakups (four) as a backup in 2019.[13][38] A pair of Bears in linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis and offensive lineman Cornelius Lucas signed with the Washington Redskins; Pierre-Louis started three games for Chicago in 2019 as he had a career-high 32 tackles, three pass deflections, and an interception, while Lucas started eight games at tackle and allowed just one sack.[16][14]

On April 17, tight end Trey Burton was released. Despite recording career bests in receiving in his first year with the Bears in 2018, he struggled with injuries in 2019.[9] Another tight end Dax Raymond was waived ten days later; he spent the 2019 season on the practice squad after catching three passes for 22 yards in the preseason.[39]

NFL Draft

The Bears entered the 2020 NFL Draft with sports outlets generally agreeing they needed help at tight end, offensive line, and defensive back, with quarterback and wide receiver also being positions that could be bolstered.[40][41][42][43] Prior to the draft, the team met with 46 prospects: three such meetings took place at the player's Pro Day on his respective campus, five at the East–West Shrine Bowl, eight at the Senior Bowl, 11 at the NFL Scouting Combine, and 19 conducted virtually; Houston offensive lineman Josh Jones also participated in a private visit with the Bears.[44]

After not having any picks in the first round for the second consecutive year, Chicago used its two second-round selections on Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet (No. 43) and Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson (No. 50). Kmet, who grew up near Chicago and was a Bears fan during his childhood, caught 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns in 2019, while Johnson was named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and recorded 36 tackles two interceptions during his final year, but fell from his projected first-round draft grade after undergoing surgeries on his shoulders.[45] In the fourth round, the Bears traded their No. 163 selection and a 2021 fourth rounder for the Minnesota Vikings' No. 155 pick, which they used on Tulsa edge rusher Trevis Gipson; in 2019, Gipson led his team in sacks and tackles-for-loss (TFL) with eight and 15, respectively.[46] A second fifth rounder (No. 163) was used to take Georgia Southern cornerback Kindle Vildor, a 2019 first-team All-Sun Belt Conference member who recorded 27 tackles and two interceptions in his final season.[47] Later in the round, the Bears traded the 196th-, 200th-, and 233rd-overall picks to the Eagles for No. 173 and the seventh-round No. 227. Tulane receiver Darnell Mooney was selected with the 173rd-overall pick; Mooney, who ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, caught 48 passes for 713 yards in 2019 and ended his college career with 19 receiving touchdowns.[48] The final two selections were consecutive picks in seventh round (Nos. 226 and 227) and were used to take offensive linemen: Colorado tackle Arlington Hambright started 11 games for his school in 2019, while Lachavious Simmons started all four years at Tennessee State at guard and tackle.[49]

In September 2018, the Bears traded their first– and third-round selections (Nos. 19 and 81, respectively), along with 2019first- and sixth-round selections to the Las Vegas Raiders (known then as the "Oakland Raiders") in exchange for linebackerKhalil Mack and the Raiders' second- (No. 43) and seventh- (No. 226) round selections; the latter of which was originally a conditional fifth-round selection.[51]

The Bears traded their original fourth-round selection (No. 125) as well as 2019 third- and fifth-round selections to the New England Patriots in exchange for Patriots' 2019 third- and sixth-round selections.[52]

As the result of the negative differential of free agent signings and departures that the Bears experienced during the first wave of the 2019 free agency period, the team received one compensatory selection, 4th round—No. 140, to compensate for the loss of safetyAdrian Amos. It was the first time since 2009 that the Bears received a compensatory selection.[54]

^Mayer, Larry (March 18, 2020). "Report: Bears add tight end Jimmy Graham". Chicago Bears. Retrieved March 19, 2020. NFL teams are prohibited from announcing that they have agreed to terms with a free agent pending a physical until the player officially signs his contract. And it's unclear when that will be allowed to happen because—due to concerns about the coronavirus—the league is not permitting clubs to meet with free agents at their facilities or other locations.