Bears sign tight end James O’Shaughnessy

On Monday, the Chicago Bears announced the signing of seven-year veteran tight end James O’Shaughnessy.

The 30-year-old O’Shaugnessy played his high school ball at Naperville North, about 30 miles west of Chicago, and collegiately at Illinois State. He was originally a fifth-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2015 and spent the last half-decade (2017-2021) in Jacksonville with the Jaguars. While nothing groundbreaking as a weapon (112 career receptions), he did start 34 times and appeared in 57 games during his Jaguars tenure.

In other words: He’s a backup tight end with actual, relevant game experience.

O’Shaugnessy will likely continue in a similar capacity in the Bears’ tight end room. Cole Kmet is, of course, the unquestioned No. 1, while some combination of Jesper Horsted and O’Shaugnessy could see Chicago deploy a lot more ACE formations (double-tight) come the fall.

Whatever the Bears’ plan is with their Y’s, it’s hard to fault a depth acquisition of a Local Boy.