(670 The Score) The Bears need to be wary as they pursue wide receivers in free agency, Brad Biggs of the Tribune told the Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday.
The Cowboys are expected to part ways with receiver Amari Cooper, who has a strong track record of production but whose asking price would likely hamstring the Bears as they look to fill other positional needs. Darnell Mooney is in line to be the Bears' top returning receiver as Allen Robinson hits free agency, and Chicago would benefit from adding at least two more productive wideouts.
“I don’t know that they’ll be aggressive for a wide receiver in free agency,” Biggs said of the Bears. “Right now, it looks like the top two on the market could be Amari Cooper – if the Cowboys follow through and cut ties with him – and Allen Robinson. Reports are that the Cowboys are working to re-sign Michael Gallup, who’s coming off a torn ACL. After Cooper and Robinson, you’re looking at a guy like maybe Christian Kirk, who’s really a slot receiver and a productive one in Arizona.
“Amari Cooper is going to be 28, he’s going to be going into Year 8. I don’t know that the Bears are in a spot right now where they say, ‘Hey, yeah, we’ve got to go out and pay for this guy in the free wave of free agency.’ Getting Robinson when they did in 2018 was a different story because he was much younger, he was going on to his second contract. I just don’t think the timing is right to go out and sign an Amari Cooper type. Maybe they can get a productive slot receiver in free agency. There’s a handful of guys at that position that look like they’re going to be hitting the market. But that’s a big question mark. And there’s several of them – wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, cornerback. Anywhere you look really, the Bears have some needs.
“If Amari Cooper goes close to where he is at right now in Dallas – which is $20 million a year – are you going to get anything close to your return on investment on that player? Really, at all? That’s where he’s been. That’s what he’s going to be expecting.
“If you didn’t want to pay Allen that, do you really want to pay Amari Cooper that? I understand the need. Boy, it’s dire and there’s going to be competition. I’d be stunned if the Detroit Lions aren’t waving a checkbook at some of the wide receivers. Their receiver group was heinous this past season. It is a good draft for wide receivers, a very good draft. If the Bears pick the right guy in round two or round three, they could get a really nice player.”