The Chicago Bears entered rookie minicamp with a real problem at wide receiver. DJ Moore is in Buffalo now. Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay departed in free agency. What remained behind Rome Odunze and Luther Burden was thin and largely unproven. Then a veteran with a Super Bowl ring showed up to audition, and things moved very fast.
The Bears are signing free agent wide receiver Scotty Miller, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported May 9, citing agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. Miller turns 29 in July, and last played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he caught nine passes for 62 yards across 13 games in the most recent season.
His presence at Friday’s tryout session gave the Bears something they needed to see in person.
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Sep 29, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Scotty Miller (13) bows his head during the national anthem before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
What Miller’s speed and familiarity bring to Chicago’s receiver room
The Randle El connection is a real piece of this. Bears wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El was an offensive assistant with Tampa Bay during Miller’s first NFL season in 2020, the year the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV. Head coach Ben Johnson referenced that shared history before Miller had even practiced.
“He’s got a history with Coach Randle El; Randle El was with him when he was a young buck there in Tampa,” Johnson told reporters at Halas Hall. “There is some shared experiences. Looking forward to seeing him run around and compete a little bit. From afar, I’ve been able to see the speed, the quickness, and certainly very intriguing.”
Bears are signing free-agent wide receiver Scotty Miller, per Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. pic.twitter.com/sZ4gDCVcXw
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 9, 2026
The final play of Friday’s session saw him haul in a deep pass from tryout quarterback Maverick McIvor with a defensive back riding him the entire route, according to reporter Zack Pearson.
Scotty Miller and a senior citizen
Scotty Miller and a senior citizen
The speed has always been there; he clocked a 4.39-second 40 time at his 2019 pro day and ran 20.84 miles per hour on his 39-yard touchdown in the 2020 NFC Championship Game against Green Bay, when Tom Brady dropped a perfect sideline pass that Miller turned into the go-ahead score.
After Tampa, he spent a season in Atlanta and two in Pittsburgh, never eclipsing 12 receptions in any of those years. The inconsistency is worth noting. Still, Chicago’s situation calls for options, not stars.
Behind Odunze and Burden, the Bears now have Jahdae Walker, Kalif Raymond, third-round pick Zavion Thomas, and Miller, six deep with different skillsets and a mix of experience that gives Johnson real choices at the position.
Whether he holds a spot when rosters cut down in August is a different question entirely, but as a minicamp addition that became a signing the same day, the process was fast and the reason was obvious.