Which Bears free agent do you want them to re-sign?

The first two parts of our free agency round table focused on free agents from other teams, but these next two are about the current Bears that are looking to cash in once free agency starts on March 18.

The Bears are certainly able to re-sign their own free agents before the league year opens, but it seems likely that they may allow a few of their players to go out and see what the market dictates they deserve.

Today we’re asking our staffers to give the one player that really want the Bears to re-sign, and each one of us gave one of Chicago’s inside linebackers, Danny Trevathan, Nick Kwiatkoski, or Kevin Pierre-Louis.

Team Danny

Bill Zimmerman - I’ve done a bit of a 180 on the Trevathan vs Kwitkoski situation. Originally, I wanted the Bears to re-sign Kwitkoski and let Trevathan walk, age being the biggest reason and Kwitkoski definitely took a jump last season. However, after seeing some of the news and conversation coming out of Indianapolis, it appears Kwitkoski has quite a market and his price tag seems like it could jump into the $8 million range. If that’s the case, the smarter move is to keep Trevathan on a short term 2 to 3 year contract with maybe just one season of guaranteed money.

Robert Zeglinski - The veteran Trevathan has been a loyal soldier since joining Chicago in 2016. There will be sentiment to instead ride with Nick Kwiatkoski as Roquan Smith’s new partner, but Trevathan is the cheaper and better option. If you can’t keep both, which the Bears can’t, ride with the veteran in the title window you’re convinced you’ve created.

Patti Curl - Kwit had a nice little year, but Trevathan has been better for longer and there’s no one I trust more with a green dot on his helmet.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. - My guess is Trevathan, at 30-years old and coming off an injury, will command less than Kwiatkoski in the 2020 market, and that’s the main reason I think the Bears should prioritize him on a 2 or 3 year deal. Kwit played himself into a big contract with someone and I can’t see the Bears having the long term cap space for him to return.

Team Kwit

Sam Householder - I acknowledge that his price is jumping (probably really high) and I’m not suggesting that the Bears should pay upwards of $8 million a year for him, but I am saying I’d like to see them make a good faith effort to re-sign him to something a little more team friendly and keep him in Chicago.

Ken Mitchell - The dude’s a baller.

Erik Duerrwaechter - He earned himself a hefty pay raise thanks to his play in 2019, and he’d pair nicely with Roquan Smith. The run defense looked and played better with “Kwit” in the lineup in comparison to Danny Trevathan. Plus, I’d hate to see a young talent leave for a division rival after playing some of their best ball in their career.

The Packers are rumored to be targeting Kwit.

Team KPL

Robert Schmitz - KPL had a fabulous season as a special-teams player and defensive fill-in and I’d love to see him back in navy and orange next year. He did basically everything the Bears’ could’ve asked him to do, and with both Roquan and Trevathan coming off of major injuries in 2020 I think Pierre-Louis would be the perfect insurance policy at ILB.

Who do you want to see the Bears re-sign?

To see the full list of Bear free agents you can click here.