Chicago Bears Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Bears signed TE Robert Tonyan to a 1-year deal. Tonyan spiked for an 11-TD season in 2020 but tore an ACL midway through the 2021 campaign. He made it back for the start of this past season but was barely fantasy relevant, finishing with 53 catches, 470 yards and 2 TDs. Tonyan ranked 29th among 32 qualifying TEs in Pro Football Focus' receiving grades. Perhaps he bounces back in 2023, another year removed from that knee injury. But Tonyan figures to slot in as Chicago's #2 TE as long as Cole Kmet is healthy. Consider Tonyan no more than a TE3 in early fantasy drafts.

The Bears signed RB D'Onta Foreman to a 1-year, $3 million deal. Foreman is coming off a nice season in Carolina, posting a career-high 914 rushing yards on 4.5 yards per carry. He ranked 26th among 42 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' rushing grades and 21st in Elusive Rating. New backfield mate Khalil Herbert beat Foreman in both metrics, finishing 25th and 6th. We'll consider Herbert the favorite to lead Chicago's David Montgomery-less backfield in carries for now but will keep a close eye on the backfield all offseason. It's worth noting that neither Herbert nor Foreman have much pass-catching production on their resumes. The Bears also have change-of-pace types Travis Homer and Trestan Ebner on the RB depth chart. There's a chance this is a 3-man committee backfield in 2023.

The Bears are signing LB Tremaine Edmunds to a four-year, $72 million deal, according to multiple reports. It's the second starter-LB pact of the day for Chicago, who reached agreement with T.J. Edwards earlier. That clearly positions Edmunds and Edwards as the full-timers for the near future. Bet on Edmunds taking over MLB and Edwards slotting on the weak side. The additions push 2022 rookie Jack Sanborn back into a reserve role. Expect both Edmunds and Edwards to land among the top 30 when our 2023 IDP rankings come out. Both already live in that territory in our dynasty rankings.

The Bears have agreed to a three-year deal with LB T.J. Edwards, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The length of the deal and timing -- right at the start of "legal tampering" -- points to Edwards taking a starting role in Chicago. The Bears have 2022 starter Nicholas Morrow hitting free agency, so there's room for 2022 rookie Jack Sanborn to remain in the starting lineup with Edwards. We'll see, of course, how the rest of free agency and the NFL Draft play out. The deal solidifies Edwards' short-term dynasty outlook, giving him a bump up our dynasty rankings. We'd hang on to Sanborn for now as well. He proved quite productive across five full outings after Roquan Smith left, before an ankle injury cost Sanborn the final three games.

The Bears agreed to a trade sending the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft to the Panthers in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2023, the 61st pick in 2023, two future picks, and WR D.J. Moore. There's certainly a lot to take in here. GM Ryan Poles managing to swing a high-end WR in Moore to go with QB Justin Fields is a tremendous boost for the team's future. Any doubts surrounding Fields and his cast of receivers are gone, solidifying his status as a top-end dynasty QB. There's got to be bad news for someone here, though. Between this move and the deadline deal that brought WR Chase Claypool over from the Steelers, it's hard to imagine a ton of fantasy upside for WR Darnell Mooney in this offense now. TE Cole Kmet also loses some value now that he seems doomed to be stuck between third or fourth in the pecking order for targets. As far as the Panthers are concerned, this is a significant investment made into finally solving their QB woes. Going up to number one enables the franchise to put an end to exploring retread experiments as they tried with QBs Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. New HC Frank Reich will have his pick of a young signal-caller to build toward the future with. One of either Alabama QB Bryce Young or Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud feels like a natural fit to plug in right away to a pro-style offense. Unfortunately, without Moore in the mix, this Panthers' offense is devoid of weapons for whoever ends up under center. It's tough to say right now who, if anyone, emerges from this Panthers' offense as a fantasy contributor. Free agency and the NFL Draft in April will help color in those missing pieces of information. Keep up with our coverage here at Draft Sharks as the offseason continues to unfold.

"That's the plan right now," Bears GM Ryan Poles said from the Combine on Tuesday when asked if QB Justin Fields will be the team's 2023 starter. Chicago holds the 1st overall pick of this spring's draft -- and Poles said he's doing his homework on the QB class. But the most likely scenario has the Bears trading that 1st pick to a QB-hungry team. If you're drafting early best-ball teams, assume that Fields will be under center for the Bears this season.

The Panthers named Thomas Brown their new OC. The 36-year-old spent the past 3 seasons working under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, serving as RBs coach and then TEs coach. He bounced around the college ranks prior to that, with his only OC experience coming at Miami from 2016 to 2018. Those offenses finished just 54th, 60th and then 105th in total yards per game. The first 2 were pass-centric attacks, while the 3rd shifted toward the run. Brown will be working under offensive-minded HC Frank Reich in Carolina. We'll see who ends up calling the plays. There's a good chance that Brown is working with a rookie QB in 2023. The Panthers hold the 9th overall pick of this spring's draft and only have QBs Matt Corral and Jacob Eason on the roster currently.

After speaking with Bears HC Matt Eberflus, insider Albert Breer expects the team to do its due diligence on the 2023 QB class but ultimately trade the 1st overall pick and stick with QB Justin Fields for this coming season. "They love [Fields] as a leader. They love him as a person. ... The question is is he the right QB," Breer said on the Rich Eisen Show. "The great thing about the position they're in right now is that they can probably get something significant for the 1st pick and use whatever they get to put something great around Fields. ... We'll give Justin a better situation. We'll get a cleaner evaluation of Justin in 2023. And then in 2024 we'll either have our QB of the future in Justin Fields, or we'll have a high pick in a draft with [USC QB] Caleb Williams and [North Carolina QB] Drake Maye are gonna be coming out." We'll see how this situation plays out over the next few months leading up to April's draft, but it sounds like 2023 will be a make-or-break year for Fields in Chicago. He was obviously dominant as a runner this past season but averaged just 150 passing yards per game on a 60.4% completion rate and 7.1 yards per attempt. A better offensive line and better weaponry would certainly help his chances of improving as a passer in 2023. Regardless, Fields is a safe pick in early fantasy drafts because he'll be starting somewhere this coming season, whether it's Chicago or elsewhere.

The Panthers are hiring Frank Reich as their next HC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Reich was fired by the Colts in November after getting off to a 3-5-1 start. But he went 37-28 across his first 4 seasons in Indianapolis, despite losing QB Andrew Luck just prior to the start of the 2019 campaign. Three of those 4 Colts teams finished top 9 in points; 2 of them ranked top 10 in total yards. Prior to arriving in Indianapolis, Reich spent 4 seasons as an OC -- 2 with the Chargers and 2 with the Eagles. Reich's offense was middling in his 1st season in both stops but improved to finish top 9 in yards in year 2. We'll see how Reich fills out his new staff, but this is a rock-solid hire for Carolina. The Panthers, of course, still need to find an answer at QB after cycling through Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker this past season. Mayfield is now with the Rams, while neither Darnold nor Walker is currently signed for 2023.

Panthers RB D'Onta Foreman (knee) is active for today's game vs. the Saints. He was added to the injury report on Friday and listed as questionable but is evidently healthy enough to play in this meaningless game.

Bears QB Justin Fields will miss Week 18 with a hip injury. Per HC Matt Eberflus, an MRI showed a hip strain for the young QB. In his place, Chicago will roll out Nathan Peterman. The 28-year-old owns a career completion rate of 52.5% on 141 attempts. The Vikings defense figures to be a chalky option in DFS formats.

Panthers WR D.J. Moore caught 6 balls for 117 yards and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. Carolina pumped its passing volume way up, attempting 37 throws after topping out at 24 attempts across QB Sam Darnold's 1st 4 starts this season. Moore still accounted for 27% of targets, 26% of receptions and 34.3% of receiving yards. He'll be a fairly easy play against the Saints for leagues that play through Week 18.

Bears QB Justin Fields ran for 132 yards on 10 carries in Sunday's lopsided loss at Detroit. It was his 3rd game of more than 100 rushing yards this season. Fields stunk as a passer, though, completing just 7 of his 21 attempts for 75 yards, 1 TD and an INT. His lone score went to TE Cole Kmet, 1 of just 4 Bears to catch any passes. Kmet led the team with 27 yards on 2 catches. Fields also took 7 sacks for the game and lost a fumble. He'll get another upside matchup in Week 18 against the Vikings but will be tougher to trust after 2 straight poor outings -- in real and fantasy football terms.

Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Lions. He’s not a recommended fantasy play, but his return is good news for QB Justin Fields. WR Dante Pettis (ankle) is also active.

Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) is expected to play vs. the Lions today, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Claypool has been out since Week 13. He's not a viable fantasy option, but his return is a boost for QB Justin Fields.

Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) logged limited practice on Friday and is officially listed as questionable for Week 17 vs. the Lions. The midseason acquisition hasn't appeared in a game since Week 13 vs. the Packers due to injury. Teammate WR Equanimeous St. Brown practiced fully and doesn't carry an injury designation, while WR Dante Pettis (ankle) is questionable. Despite a quality fantasy matchup against a Lions defense that ranks as the 4th-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs, it's wise to sit these wideouts in fantasy championships. The Bears and QB Justin Fields have only surpassed 200 passing yards in a game once this season. The only Bears pass-catcher that warrants fantasy consideration is TE Cole Kmet, best viewed as a low-end TE1.

Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) managed to log limited participation in practice on Thursday. Fellow WR Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) also practiced in a limited fashion. Neither player practiced at all on Wednesday, so this is certainly a step in the right direction. We'll continue to track the health of the Bears WR corps ahead of Week 17's game vs. the Lions on Sunday.

Bears WR Chase Claypool (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. Fellow WR Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) also did not participate. Neither player suited up for Week 16 due to these injuries. Their availability for Week 17 vs. the Lions is up in the air as of now, but there's still a whole week of practice ahead of them. We'll keep an eye on this situation.

Bears QB Justin Fields threw for just 119 yards and a TD in Saturday's loss to the Bills. He added a surprisingly low 11 rushing yards on 7 carries. We'd bet on a rebound for Fields in a Week 17 visit to the Detroit (in the dome).

Panthers RB D'Onta Foreman racked up 165 yards and a TD on 21 carries in Saturday's whipping of the Lions. RB Chuba Hubbard added 125 yards on 12 carries, and even RB Raheem Blackshear scored among his 3 carries. Carolina gets a rematch with Tampa Bay in week 17. Foreman and Hubbard combined for 181 yards on 24 carries in the 1st meeting. It'll still be tough to trust either member of this inconsistent backfield inside the top 24, but the upside is clear.