It appears as if the Chicago Bears have hit the end of the road with Gerald Everett.
With the NFL Scouting Combine starting next week and free agency following soon, teams around the league will begin releasing players in an attempt to give respected veterans a chance to find a landing spot with a new team before the new league year begins and the market gets flooded with options.
For the Bears, the first cut appears to be tight end Gerald Everett:
Bears told veteran TE Gerald Everett that they plan to release him, a move that will free up $5.5 million in salary cap space.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 21, 2025ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Bears have let tight end Gerald Everett know their plans to cut him. The move comes less than a year after the team signed Everett to a two-year deal worth up to $12 million. Parting ways with Everett now creates $5.5 million in salary cap space for Chicago to use this offseason. It’s not as if this team was lacking for wiggle room under the cap, but every bit helps.
The Bears are moving on from Gerald Everett
Gerald Everett’s first (and only) season with the Chicago Bears was a massive disappointment. The 30-year-old tight end played in all 17 games, but I can understand if you do not remember him making an impact in any of them because his presence felt non-existent for most of the year.
Everett finished the 2024 campaign with eight catches and 36 receiving yards. He did not score any touchdowns and was on the field for just 22 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Everett’s 246 snaps were his fewest in a season since 2018, which happens to be the last time in which he appeared on fewer than 50 percent of his team’s offensive snaps. All in all, the Everett era feels like a complete waste. But it’s over now. Thank goodness.
CHICAGO BEARS 2024 EXIT INTERVIEWS: GERALD EVERETT
Using OverTheCap.com’s salary cap calculator, cutting Gerald Everett takes the Bears from having $69,008,403 in space under the cap to $74,508,403. That $5.5 million cap savings comes with just a $1 million hit in the dead money department. As far as I am concerned, that is a net win for the Bears. And when it comes to Everett, the early release allows him and his representation to find a soft landing spot with a team that needs a backup tight end.
As for what is next for the Bears, finding a second tight end officially joins the offseason to-do list. When new head coach Ben Johnson was running the Detroit Lions offense, he often deployed two tight ends on the field at the same time. According to data from Sumer Sports, the Lions used 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs) on a league-high 1,118 plays. Detroit was quite successful using this package with an Expected Points Added ranking that checked in as the fourth best in football. In other words, I expect the Bears to add a competent tight end to pair with Cole Kmet this offseason.
How this team will go about finding that tight end remains a question. It looks like slim pickings in free agency, with Juwan Johnson (Saints), Mike Gesicki (Bengals), Tyler Conklin (Jets), and Zach Ertz (Commanders) being the only tight ends who pop up on Pro Football Focus’ top 100 free agents list. The 2025 NFL Draft has some intriguing options. Perhaps we’ll learn more about those prospects during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next week. Stay tuned.
Dec 8, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Gerald Everett (14) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images Read More Details
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