Bears at Risk of Losing Top Free Agent Target to Division Rival
The Chicago Bears will march into NFL free agency next week with plans to significantly overhaul the interior of their offensive line for the 2025 season.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bears even already have a few of the market’s top free-agent guards “on the radar” ahead of March 10’s start to legal tampering, including Indianapolis Colts veteran right guard Will Fries. To land Fries, though, the Bears may need to outduel the Minnesota Vikings.
According to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, Fries is projected to be a top target for the Vikings when free agency opens, but he also added that he believes the Vikings will face competition for him on the market, including from the Bears.
“[Fries] fits the Vikings’ preferred free-agent benchmarks in that he’s young, versatile and productive,” Lewis wrote. “How his right tibia fracture affects his market remains to be seen, but the Vikings will likely be bidding against multiple teams, including the NFC North-rival Chicago Bears.” The Vikings lurking for Fries could pose a problem for the Bears. The guard market took a major hit when the Kansas City Chiefs placed the franchise tag on right guard Trey Smith and blocked him from testing free agency.
While other viable starters are coming available, such as Fries and San Francisco’s Aaron Banks, it leaves teams fighting over a small guard pool. Related:
Chicago Bears 7-Round Mock Draft 2.0: Post-NFL Combine Edition The Bears will have a healthy amount of cap space to throw their weight around in negotiations, but so too will the Vikings. According to Over the Cap, the Bears will have the third-most cap space in the league at roughly $79.4 million, while the Vikings have the seventh-most at about $63 million.
With money like that on both sides, a bidding war between Chicago and Minnesota for Fries’ services could ultimately come down to the player’s preference – and that’s not a variable the Bears can overcome or control.
The 2025 league year will officially begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 12, but the league’s legal tampering period is scheduled to begin at noon ET on March 10.
Vikings, Bears to Compete in Bidding War for Projected $56.5M Free Agent
The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears each came out on the losing end of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ decision to franchise tag Pro Bowl offensive guard Trey Smith ahead of free agency.
Both NFC North rivals are in need of revamping the interior of their offensive line, and both are now likely to turn to arguably the next best option now that Smith is off the table.
“Headlining the list is Indianapolis Colts guard Will Fries. He fits the Vikings’ preferred free-agent benchmarks in that he’s young, versatile and productive,” Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote Monday, March 3. “How his right tibia fracture affects his market remains to be seen, but the Vikings will likely be bidding against multiple teams, including the [Bears].”
Will Fries Prized Offensive Lineman in 2025 Free Agent Class Despite Injury
GettyOffensive guard Will Fries of the Indianapolis Colts is carted off the field following an injury during an NFL game in 2024.
Matt Bowen of ESPN listed Fries as the 19th-best free agent across any position, and the No. 2 interior offensive lineman, in the 2025 class back in late January — even despite a serious injury he suffered last year.
“Before a right tibia injury ended his season in Week 5, Fries had posted career bests in both pass block win rate (92.4%) and run block win rate (74.3%),” Bowen wrote. “He might lack high-end traits, but the tape tells us he can upgrade the interior of an offensive front. He has a fundamentally sound play style, the lower-body mobility to handle power rushers and an ability to sustain blocks on contact.”
Fries, a former seventh-round pick out of Penn State, just finished his four-year rookie contract. Spotrac projects his market value at $56.5 million total ($14.1 million annually) over a new four-year deal.
