If the last several weeks have taught us anything about the Chicago Bears, it’s that head coach Ben Johnson values the third phase. Not only did he retain special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, who had a top-ten unit a season ago, but he and general manager Ryan Poles have been signing and re-signing players who have excelled on special teams.
Their latest pickup, two-time Pro Bowl returner Devin Duvernay, will bring a speed element to the return units. He has two career kickoff return touchdowns and a 24.9 average, and his career 12.0 yards per punt return is the sixth-best mark in NFL history.
To aid Hightower’s special teams, the Bears have re-signed four of their top tacklers in the third phase, and the sixth is already under contract.
Here’s the list of the Bears leading special teams tacklers from 2024.
Daniel Hardy: 11 total tackles, one forced fumble, one block (tendered an offer as an ERFA)
Amen Ogbongbemiga: 11 total tackles (Re-signed to a 1-year deal)
Tarvarius Moore: 7 total tackles (Re-signed to a 1-year deal)
Josh Blackwell: 7 total tackles (Re-signed to a 2-year deal)
Elijah Hicks: 7 total tackles (Signed through 2025)
Travis Homer: 6 total tackles (Re-signed to a 1-year deal)
From a third-phase snap count standpoint, Hardy ranked first on the team with 370 (84.67%), Ogbongbemiga was third, Blackwell was fourth, and Moore, Hicks, and Homer were seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.
The Bears also brought long snapper Scott Daly (5 tackles) back with the returning specialists Tory Taylor and Cairo Santos.
The most significant contributor to the Bears’ special teams unit who has departed is 24-year-old reserve linebacker Jack Sanborn (4 tackles), who played the second-most snaps (369). Chicago declined to tender him an offer as a restricted free agent, which would have meant a $3.2 million deal. Instead, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys for $1.5 million.
Twenty-two-year-old linebacker Noah Sewell, who had four tackles and a forced fumble in 228 fewer third-phase snaps than Sanborn, may be ready to take on a bigger role if his health cooperates.
Hightower and the Bears will obviously need to reshuffle a few players, but having so many core members back will help the continuity of the unit.