The 2019 season was the Chicago Bears' 100th in the National Football League (NFL) and their second under head coach Matt Nagy. The season was branded as "Bears100" to celebrate the franchise's centennial, which included a commemorative patch on jerseys and a new throwback uniform.
Despite a 3–1 start, the Bears embarked on a four-game losing streak. After losing to the Philadelphia Eagles to fall to 3–5, they rebounded by winning four of their next five but were unable to improve upon their 12–4 record from 2018. A Week 15 loss to the Green Bay Packers coupled with the Minnesota Vikings beating the Los Angeles Chargers later that day eliminated them from playoff contention. Chicago ended the season with an 8–8 record and third in the NFC North. The offense struggled throughout the year, while the defense continued to rank in the top ten in multiple categories; the Bears were the only team to not make the playoffs despite being in the top five in fewest points allowed per game.
Offseason
Organizational changes On January 9, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who guided the Bears to the top-ranked scoring defense in 2018, left the team to become head coach of the Denver Broncos. Two days later, Chicago hired former Indianapolis Colts' head coach Chuck Pagano to take over the position; before joining the Colts in 2012, he served as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator for one season in 2011, during which they ranked third in total defense. In assembling his defensive staff, Pagano chose not to retain outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley and assistant defensive backs coach Roy Anderson, both of whom had been with the Bears since 2017, and inside linebackers coach Glenn Pires, who had been on the Bears staff since 2015. Staley and defensive backs coach Ed Donatell followed Fangio to the Broncos. Following the moves, line coach Jay Rodgers and quality control coaches Bill Shuey and Sean Desai were the remaining defensive assistants; on February 8, Shuey and Desai were promoted to defensive pass analyst/assistant linebackers coach and safeties coach, respectively.
Pagano began replacing the departures by hiring Deshea Townsend as defensive backs coach and Ronell Williams as defensive quality control coach on January 18. Townsend was a two-time Super Bowl champion cornerback with the Pittsburgh Steelers before becoming a coach; he was most recently the assistant defensive backs coach of the New York Giants. Williams, a defensive analyst for the Temple Owls football team, worked with the Bears during Training Camp in 2018 as a member of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship; former Arena Football League wide receiver Chris Jackson, who also participated in the program, was hired as a defensive assistant on February 12. On January 21, former Kansas State defensive coordinator Ted Monachino was hired as senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach; Monachino worked with Pagano in Baltimore and Indianapolis, the latter as defensive coordinator. The Bears later added Kansas City Chiefs inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone to serve the same position, reuniting him with Nagy.
On May 1, Brad Childress rejoined the team as a senior offensive assistant. During the 2018 offseason and training camp, Childress had worked with Nagy and the Bears as a consultant; the two had been acquainted as co-offensive coordinators in Kansas City.
Roster changes Position Player Free agencyTag Date signed 2019 team SS UFA March 13 Green Bay Packers WR UFA March 13 New York Jets TE RFA March 11 Chicago Bears QB UFA March 20 Chicago Bears TE UFA March 18 New York Jets FB UFA May 13 New Orleans Saints CB UFA March 15 Denver Broncos OL ERFA April 5 Chicago Bears RB UFA April 2 Jacksonville Jaguars SS UFA March 29 Chicago Bears LB ERFA April 15 Chicago Bears OL UFA March 14 Cleveland Browns LB UFA April 1 Chicago Bears OT UFA January 26 Chicago Bears TE UFA April 25 P UFA March 18 Chicago Bears DE ERFA March 13 Chicago Bears LS UFA April 3 Chicago Bears WR UFA March 15 Arizona Cardinals CB UFA DE UFA March 15 Chicago Bears OL UFA March 22 Cleveland Browns Entering the 2019 offseason, the Bears had 21 players set to become free agents, including three restricted free agents and three exclusive-rights free agents. Two of the restricted free agents, safety DeAndre Houston-Carson and long snapper Patrick Scales, became unrestricted free agents when the Bears did not extend qualifying offers to them.
Acquisitions Two days after their 2018 season ended, on January 8, the Bears signed ten players to futures/reserve contracts, nine of whom were part of the practice squad in 2018: running back Ryan Nall; offensive lineman Dejon Allen; defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson; linebacker Josh Woods; defensive backs John Franklin III, Cyril Grayson, Michael Joseph and Jonathon Mincy; and Canadian Football League player James Vaughters, who last played for the Calgary Stampeders. Later in the month, Chicago signed receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert and linebacker Jameer Thurman—also CFL players—New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas and Tulsa kicker Redford Jones. A second kicker, Pittsburgh Panthers alumnus Chris Blewitt, was signed on March 6.
The NFL conducted a two-day negotiation period for incoming unrestricted free agents on March 11–12, with free agency beginning the next day. During the period, running back Mike Davis, wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and cornerback Buster Skrine committed to signing with the Bears, with Davis and Patterson finalizing two-year contracts and Skrine a three-year deal when free agency opened. With the Seattle Seahawks, Davis recorded 514 rushing yards and four touchdowns, along with 214 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2018; on the New England Patriots in 2018, Patterson had 247 receiving yards and three touchdowns, along with 42 carries for 228 yards and a touchdown as a running back and averaging 28.8 kickoff return yards as a return specialist; in 14 games for the 2018 New York Jets, Skrine had a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and four tackles for loss, with Matt Nagy calling him "one of the better nickels in this league, if not the best".
At the start of free agency on March 13, the Bears signed Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Ted Larsen, who started eight games for Chicago in 2016, to a one-year agreement. The following day, safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who played for the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins in 2018, joined Chicago on a one-year deal. Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Marvin Hall signed with the Bears on March 15; a fast player, he recorded ten receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown, along with 616 kickoff return yards in 2018.
On April 12, kicker Elliott Fry, who was a member of the Alliance of American Football's Orlando Apollos until the league's shutdown ten days prior, was signed to a three-year deal. A month later, on May 8, the Bears picked up Jets linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, who played in Kansas City with Nagy in 2017.
Departures On February 21, tight end Dion Sims was released with one year left on his contract; he was on injured reserve for half of the 2018 season and caught only two passes. The following day, it was reported kicker Cody Parkey would be released at the start of the league year on March 13 after 11 missed kicks in 2018 and $3.5 million guaranteed still on his 2019 contract. Linebacker Sam Acho, who spent much of 2018 on injured reserve, was let go on March 5.
Once free agency began, various unrestricted free agents opted to sign with other teams, including strong safety Adrian Amos, who signed with the Packers, and cornerback Bryce Callahan joining the Denver Broncos. Departing non-starters included running back Benny Cunningham to the Jacksonville Jaguars, fullback Michael Burton to the New Orleans Saints, wide receivers Josh Bellamy and Kevin White respectively to the Jets and Arizona Cardinals, tight end Daniel Brown with the Jets, and offensive linemen Eric Kush and Bryan Witzmann with the Cleveland Browns.
On March 28, running back Jordan Howard, who struggled to adapt to Nagy's offense as he recorded a career-worst 935 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in 2018, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2020.
After suffering a serious injury in a 2017 game that forced him to miss the entire 2018 season, tight end Zach Miller announced his retirement on April 16. Nine days later, the Bears officially released Miller with a failed physical designation.
On May 3, wide receiver Cyril Grayson and offensive linemen Dejon Allen and Willie Beavers were waived. Grayson and Beavers were on the Bears' practice squad in 2018, while Allen joined the team in May 2018 but did not play in the regular season.
NFL draft
In a press conference on April 23, two days before the 2019 NFL draft, general manager Ryan Pace explained the team did not have "pressing, huge needs" and "can honestly select the best players". The Bears entered the draft without picks in the first two rounds after trading the first rounder (No. 24 overall, Josh Jacobs) to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Khalil Mack and the second rounder (No. 56) to the New England Patriots for their 2018 fourth-round selection, respectively. It was the first draft since 2010 in which the Bears did not have first- nor second-round picks.
During the draft, the Bears traded with the Patriots once again with an exchange that sent the former's third- (No. 87) and fifth-round (No. 162) for the latter's third- (No. 73) and sixth-round (No. 205) selections, and a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft. With New England's 73rd-overall selection, Chicago drafted Iowa State running back David Montgomery; in 2018, Montgomery led the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in missed tackles forced with 99, along with recording 24 rushing touchdowns and averaging 4.7 yards per carry and 8.2 yards per reception in his three-year college career. In the fourth round, the Bears used the 126th-overall on receiver Riley Ridley, who had 70 receptions for 1,026 yards (14.7 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns at Georgia.
Two rounds later, the Bears' No. 205 was used on Kansas State cornerback Duke Shelley; although his 2018 season was marred by a toe injury, Shelley recorded 33 tackles and three interceptions that year. In four years at Kansas State, Shelley had 165 career tackles and eight interceptions. With their two seventh-round picks, Chicago drafted Florida Atlantic running back Kerrith Whyte Jr. (No. 222) and Valdosta State cornerback Stephen Denmark (No. 238). Whyte attracted Pace's attention with his speed, running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, and was a running back and return specialist at FAU; in 2018, Whyte had 134 carries for 866 yards and eight touchdowns, along with 19 kickoff returns for an average of 28.7 yards and a touchdown. A receiver who was converted to cornerback for his final year at Valdosta State, Denmark recorded 55 tackles and three interceptions in 2018.
Following the draft, the Bears signed 22 undrafted free agents: receivers Emanuel Hall (Missouri) and Thomas Ives (Colgate); tight ends Ian Bunting (California), Dax Raymond (Utah State) and Ellis Richardson (Georgia Southern); offensive linemen Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher (Notre Dame), Blake Blackmar (Baylor), Joe Lowery (Ohio) and Marquez Tucker (Southern Utah); defensive linemen Daryle Banfield (Brown), Jonathan Harris (Lindenwood) and Lawrence Marshall (Michigan); linebackers Mathieu Betts (Laval) and Chuck Harris (Buffalo); defensive backs Jomon Dotson (Nevada), Clifton Duck (Appalachian State), Doyin Jibowu (Fort Hays State), Adarius Pickett (UCLA) and Josh Simmons (Limestone); kicker John Baron II (San Diego State); and long snapper John Wirtel (Kansas).
Ridley, Whyte and Denmark signed their four-year rookie contracts on May 13, while Montgomery did so on June 14. Shelley completed the draft signings on June 20.
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