2017 Chicago Bears season
The 2017 season was the Chicago Bears' 98th in the National Football League, as well as their third and final season under head coach John Fox. The Bears improved upon the previous year's 3–13 record, finishing 5–11, but failed to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season and suffered their fourth consecutive losing season.
This was their first season since 2008 without Jay Cutler as their starting quarterback, ending an eight-year era. Instead, the Bears picked up former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Mike Glennon in free agency and traded up to the number two overall pick in the draft for Mitchell Trubisky. Glennon started the first four games of the season, but was benched for Trubisky after a 1–3 start. Despite entering the bye week with a 3–5 record, the Bears were eliminated from playoff contention following a week thirteen loss against the San Francisco 49ers, and finished the season 5–11. In addition, no Bears players were selected to the Pro Bowl. To add to these failures, it was the first season since 1969 that the Bears failed to win a game against a divisional opponent.
On January 1, 2018, after failing to produce a winning season for a third consecutive season, Fox was fired following the Bears' 23–10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings the day prior.
Offseason
Organizational changes
On January 3, running backs coach Stan Drayton departed the team to become the running backs coach for the Texas Longhorns. The following day, the Bears fired offensive line coach Dave Magazu and assistant defensive backs coach Sam Garnes. The Bears lost a fourth assistant coach on January 7, when outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt joined the New York Jets. To take their places, the Bears hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins, Miami Dolphins assistant offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn and 49ers safeties coach Roy Anderson, respectively. In addition to his role as Bears defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio assumed Hurtt's role as outside linebackers coach until Chattanooga Mocs defensive coordinator Brandon Staley was hired on February 22. Assistant offensive line coach Kevin Mawae was not retained by the Bears. On January 30, wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson announced he would be leaving the team. Tennessee Volunteers receivers coach / passing game coordinator Zach Azzanni was hired to replace Johnson on February 22. The Bears and 49ers also swapped special teams coaches when the latter's ST coordinator Derius Swinton II, who served as an assistant for the Bears in 2015, returned to Chicago as the assistant ST coach; meanwhile, Bears assistant ST coach Richard Hightower joined the 49ers as their new ST coordinator.Roster changes
Acquisitions
The first transactions of the year occurred shortly after the conclusion of the 2016 regular season, on January 3, 2017, when the Bears signed to futures contracts cornerbacks De'Vante Bausby, Jacoby Glenn and Rashaad Reynolds, wide receiver Dres Anderson, running back David Cobb, tackle William Poehls, guard Cyril Richardson and center Cornelius Edison. Bausby, Glenn and Edison all saw regular season action for the Bears in 2016, with Glenn also earning three starts throughout the season, while Anderson, Cobb, Poehls, Reynolds and Richardson spent the 2016 season on the team's practice squad.On January 6, the team signed to a futures contract defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore. Lewis-Moore, a 2013 sixth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens, was a practice squad player in Baltimore during the 2016 season after playing in five games in 2015. Four days later, the Bears signed to a futures contract with wide receiver Rueben Randle. Randle, a former second-round pick by the New York Giants in 2012, spent the 2016 season out of football after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of the preseason.
On March 10, the Bears signed quarterback Mike Glennon, wide receiver Markus Wheaton, tight end Dion Sims and safety Quintin Demps. Glennon, who started 18 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 2013 and 2014, signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal with the Bears and started the first four games of the season. Wheaton, a former third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013, missed most of the 2016 season with a shoulder injury, after recording 44 receptions for 749 yards and five touchdowns in 2015. Sims, an excellent blocker who started 11 games for the Miami Dolphins in 2016, signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the team. Demps, a nine-year veteran who led the Houston Texans in interceptions in 2016, signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract with the Bears.
On March 11, the team added cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper, offensive lineman Tom Compton and wide receiver Kendall Wright. Amukamara, a former first-round draft pick of the 2011 Giants, who started twelve games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, agreed to a one-year, $7 million contract, while Cooper, a 7th round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 who led the Arizona Cardinals in interceptions during the 2016 season, signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the team. Cooper played wide receiver at Rutgers. Compton, a five-year veteran who played in all 16 regular season games for the 2016 NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, was a 6th round pick by the Redskins in 2012. Wright, a former first-round pick by the Tennessee Titans who played under Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and caught 280 passes for 2,244 yards and 18 touchdowns through his five seasons with the team, both agreed to one-year deals with the Bears.
On March 17, the Bears signed defensive tackle John Jenkins, a 359-pound nose tackle who was a third-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2013, when Bears general manager Ryan Pace was the Saints' Director of player personnel. Jenkins agreed to a one-year, $900.000 contract with the team. Los Angeles Rams running back Benny Cunningham signed with the team on March 21; also a kick returner, he returned 22 kicks for an average of 27.2 yards, fourth-best in the NFL. Three days later, the Bears signed veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez to a one-year contract. On April 5, cornerback B. W. Webb was signed on a one-year deal; Webb started eight games for the Saints in 2016 and recorded an interception.
The first signing of May took place on May 1, signing interior offensive lineman and former Bear Taylor Boggs; after spending 2013 and 2014 with the Bears, Boggs played for the Cardinals in 2016. The next day, the Bears signed another offensive lineman in Bradley Sowell, who played left and right tackle for the Seattle Seahawks in 2016. On May 4, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jaye Howard signed with the Bears on a one-year contract; starting four games in 2016 with the Chiefs, Howard had 122 tackles and 7.5 sacks over his five-year career. Four days later, linebacker Dan Skuta, a former player of Vic Fangio during their time with the 49ers, joined the Bears on a one-year deal. On May 25, the Bears signed Giants' Victor Cruz to a one-year contract; Cruz caught 39 passes for 586 yards and a touchdown in 2016 after two seasons plagued with injuries. On the final day of the month, Detroit Lions fullback Michael Burton was claimed off waivers by the Bears; in 2015, Burton caught six passes for 39 yards and a touchdown, along with four rushing attempts for two yards, while he did not record a rush or a reception in 2016.
Departures
On January 9, linebacker Josh Shirley was waived. Shirley, who was signed to the Bears' practice squad on December 14 and promoted to the active roster for the season finale, played only one defensive snap for the team in 2016. On March 9, the team released longtime quarterback Jay Cutler; the 33-year-old quarterback held multiple franchise passing records, but played just five games in 2016 due to injury. Later in the month, on March 31, the Bears waived defensive end Ego Ferguson, who last played during the 2015 season and was since on injured reserve twice. Cornerback Tracy Porter was released on April 10; despite starting all sixteen games in 2016, he struggled with knee injuries throughout the year. In early May, the Bears released six players: running backs David Cobb and Bralon Addison, defensive backs De'Vante Bausby and Jacoby Glenn; wide receiver Dres Anderson and tight end Justin Perillo. On May 11, receiver Eddie Royal, defensive lineman Will Sutton, fullback Paul Lasike and center Cornelius Edison were waived; Royal struggled with injuries during his tenure with the Bears; Sutton, a 4–3 defensive tackle, did not fit Fangio's 3–4 defense and was unable to record a sack as a Bear.On March 9, free agency began with the departure of receiver Alshon Jeffery for the Eagles to end a five-year tenure in Chicago. Quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley, along with tight end Logan Paulsen, signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Three other linemen who left the Bears included defensive end Cornelius Washington, who joined the Lions, guard Ted Larsen, who signed with the Miami Dolphins, and offensive tackle Matt McCants, who was signed by the Cleveland Browns. On April 3, cornerback Demontre Hurst became a Titan. Two days later, quarterback David Fales also signed with the Dolphins. On July 29 and 31, linebacker Danny Mason and offensive lineman Nick Becton signed with the Broncos and Lions, respectively.
2017 NFL draft
Pre-draft
Entering the draft, the Bears saw needs at various positions, including quarterback, offensive tackle, wide receiver, and safety. In the months leading up to April's draft, the team interacted with 84 players; 21 had private visits, 7 players visited during the NFL Scouting Combine, 55 met during the Senior Bowl and 2 during the East–West Shrine Game, 4 had private workouts, while 2 had local visits. Of the 84, 6 had met with the team on multiple occasions.With the third-overall pick leading up to the draft, it was the highest selection by the Bears since the 2005 NFL draft, in which the team drafted Texas Longhorns running back Cedric Benson; it was also the first No. 3 pick since 1972, which was used on Southern Illinois Salukis offensive tackle Lionel Antoine.