Official 2026 Free Agency/Offseason/Non-Draft Thread

[Patler]

You really think Willis is a journeyman ?

Do you think Love ever becomes a top 5 in the NFL QB, and if not are you happy paying him on that contract ?

I think Bobble raises a very good debate.

If we could get three 1st for Jordan Love, keep Willis at half the salary, and use the extra money to sign some real pieces....I think it's a credible thing to consider...and i'm not sure which side I'm on

I think Willis has a lot yet to prove. Can he do well beyond the limited game plans used for him in Green Bay? I don't know, but just as with most still unproven QBs, the odds are that he will not. He has proven to be an effective backup already, however; so, I expect a decent career for him in that way, at least.

[pbmax]

You really think Willis is a journeyman ?

Do you think Love ever becomes a top 5 in the NFL QB, and if not are you happy paying him on that contract ?

I think Bobble raises a very good debate.

If we could get three 1st for Jordan Love, keep Willis at half the salary, and use the extra money to sign some real pieces....I think it's a credible thing to consider...and i'm not sure which side I'm on

Depending on Willis cap structure, he might not even be half the cost of Love now. Willis is getting $45 mil guaranteed over 2 years minimum. Loves cap number is $36 mil in 2026. Given the dead money hitting the cap when moving Love, the Willis savings would be eaten up by the dead money.

You wouldn't get any new players this year. Next year you would start to see the effect. But that just means you really are rebuilding this year.

[Bretsky]

In five years, I expect Jordan Love to be the starting QB in Green Bay, and Malik Willis to be a journeyman starter/coveted backup on his 4th or 5th team. I can even see him back in Green Bay at some point in his career as a highly paid backup QB.

You really think Willis is a journeyman ?

Do you think Love ever becomes a top 5 in the NFL QB, and if not are you happy paying him on that contract ?

I think Bobble raises a very good debate.

If we could get three 1st for Jordan Love, keep Willis at half the salary, and use the extra money to sign some real pieces....I think it's a credible thing to consider...and i'm not sure which side I'm on

[Patler]

In five years, I expect Jordan Love to be the starting QB in Green Bay, and Malik Willis to be a journeyman starter/coveted backup on his 4th or 5th team. I can even see him back in Green Bay at some point in his career as a highly paid backup QB.

[texaspackerbacker]

Are you guys seriously speculating about trading Love? Sheeeeesh. That would be downright funny if it wasn't so all out STUPID.

[bobblehead]

2 firsts, 2 seconds and a fifth. Its a haul I agree. But its not 3 firsts. Love is younger but also one big postseason game versus two time Super Bowl QB.

However, the market for new QBs was pretty depressed this offseason. Could change with injuries but no one got a haul this year. You do just need one team to be Denver Broncos stupid though.

Russell was a 2 time super bowl QB thanks to Lynch. And would you trade a 1st for 2 2nds and a 5th? I would. As I said, it was comparable. And its tough to find a comp because no one trades a legit starting QB in his prime. The fact they got that for Russ when he had already worn out his welcome speaks volumes. I am 99.9% confident we could have gotten 3 firsts for Love if we shopped it. We just gave 2 firsts and a solid player for an EDGE. In what world is Parsons worth more than a franchise QB (or do you think that was an awful trade?)

[pbmax]

I'd argue the Russell Wilson trade was comparable, and he was 6 years older at the time.

Willis game against the Ravens was elite. Full stop. The throws were better than most of Loves throws. And don't get me started on mobility.

2 firsts, 2 seconds and a fifth. Its a haul I agree. But its not 3 firsts. Love is younger but also one big postseason game versus two time Super Bowl QB.

However, the market for new QBs was pretty depressed this offseason. Could change with injuries but no one got a haul this year. You do just need one team to be Denver Broncos stupid though. I think expecting that haul is a gamble in and of itself and you'd be under pressure to decide quickly if you want to keep the cap straight.

[pbmax]

I'd argue the Russell Wilson trade was comparable, and he was 6 years older at the time.

Willis game against the Ravens was elite. Full stop. The throws were better than most of Loves throws. And don't get me started on mobility.

2 firsts, 2 seconds and a fifth. Its a haul I agree. But its not 3 firsts. Love is younger but also one big postseason game versus two time Super Bowl QB.

However, the market for new QBs was pretty depressed this offseason. Could change with injuries but no one got a haul this year. You do just need one team to be Denver Broncos stupid though.

[bobblehead]

I have concerns about the org from top to bottom these days but one I am not concerned about is QB evaluation and development. They knew what they had.

And Love's cap hit can only be spread out over 2 years max.

They knew what they had, agreed. What they were willing to do about it....

Gutes can only be smart if Willis balls out. He took him off the scrap heap and Love is a legit NFL QB. Gutes can look awful if he trades Love and his awful OL gets willis hurt. He took the safe choice. He drafted Love, gave him a monster contract. Just because he was never going to trade him and roll with Willis doesn't mean it was the smart play. Gutes is fully invested in Love's success and Love has proven he can play. He was never going to make a bold call and trade him. Now we can draft the best RAS scores and maybe sneak into the 7 seed again, but this time when Love misses 3 games we probably lose all 3 badly.

[bobblehead]

3 firsts? If you can find a comparable trade that netted 3 firsts I'd like to see it.

A lot of the Willis effect is lack of tape study. He comes in and the defense is getting unscouted looks in the passing game.

I'd argue the Russell Wilson trade was comparable, and he was 6 years older at the time.

Willis game against the Ravens was elite. Full stop. The throws were better than most of Loves throws. And don't get me started on mobility.

[pbmax]

3 firsts? If you can find a comparable trade that netted 3 firsts I'd like to see it.

A lot of the Willis effect is lack of tape study. He comes in and the defense is getting unscouted looks in the passing game.

I have concerns about the org from top to bottom these days but one I am not concerned about is QB evaluation and development. They knew what they had.

And Love's cap hit can only be spread out over 2 years max.

[pbmax]

Spread the pain over a few years. The savings in Willis contract would mitigate a lot of it. The rookie contracts of multiple firsts would mitigate some of it. I don't hate on Love (I think we could have gotten 3 firsts, how can I). I just saw a more mobile, more stout QB with a very similar arm. His throws in the Baltimore game early on were incredible. I also think MiLF called a better game with Willis in there.

The real problem with this team is we have bled talent and made too many mistakes with large contracts to the wrong guys, while refusing to cut bait soon enough (Jalex, Bak). We continue to lose talented players because we are using the barbell approach (investing term regarding heavy weights on each side. In the football sense, we wrap the cap into 5 guys on one end and have scrubs on the other end). This leaves roster holes.

I have been wildly optimistic for decades (and have been mostly right). Right now, I'm wondering if we make the playoffs next year. Maybe if we are brutally healthy we can take the division, but the Bears have a better coach and want it more. Hell, we couldn't even get it up enough to retaliate for 3 head shots on our QB.

3 firsts? If you can find a comparable trade that netted 3 firsts I'd like to see it.

A lot of the Willis effect is lack of tape study. He comes in and the defense is getting unscouted looks in the passing game.

[Joemailman]

There's this weird thing that's happened the last few years - the Packers start off hot, hot, hot, then get worse, worse, worse as the game goes on. It's really weird. We used to complain that the Packers came out of the gate slow. Now they come out firing on all cylinders and then fall apart. The Bears' playoff loss was the perfect mirror of the past couple years of Packer teams.

Yeah, it seems like they often have a hard time adjusting to the adjustments the opponent makes. Like you said, the playoff loss last year was a perfect example. Bears came out blitzing in the 2nd half, and it took until the Packers 5th possession before they were able to stop it. Once they made their own adjustments, they were able to move the ball. But it took too long.

[Fritz]

Spread the pain over a few years. The savings in Willis contract would mitigate a lot of it. The rookie contracts of multiple firsts would mitigate some of it. I don't hate on Love (I think we could have gotten 3 firsts, how can I). I just saw a more mobile, more stout QB with a very similar arm. His throws in the Baltimore game early on were incredible. I also think MiLF called a better game with Willis in there.

The real problem with this team is we have bled talent and made too many mistakes with large contracts to the wrong guys, while refusing to cut bait soon enough (Jalex, Bak). We continue to lose talented players because we are using the barbell approach (investing term regarding heavy weights on each side. In the football sense, we wrap the cap into 5 guys on one end and have scrubs on the other end). This leaves roster holes.

I have been wildly optimistic for decades (and have been mostly right). Right now, I'm wondering if we make the playoffs next year. Maybe if we are brutally healthy we can take the division, but the Bears have a better coach and want it more. Hell, we couldn't even get it up enough to retaliate for 3 head shots on our QB.

There's this weird thing that's happened the last few years - the Packers start off hot, hot, hot, then get worse, worse, worse as the game goes on. It's really weird. We used to complain that the Packers came out of the gate slow. Now they come out firing on all cylinders and then fall apart. The Bears' playoff loss was the perfect mirror of the past couple years of Packer teams.

[bobblehead]

All depends on how bad you would to suffer the next year.

Spread the pain over a few years. The savings in Willis contract would mitigate a lot of it. The rookie contracts of multiple firsts would mitigate some of it. I don't hate on Love (I think we could have gotten 3 firsts, how can I). I just saw a more mobile, more stout QB with a very similar arm. His throws in the Baltimore game early on were incredible. I also think MiLF called a better game with Willis in there.

The real problem with this team is we have bled talent and made too many mistakes with large contracts to the wrong guys, while refusing to cut bait soon enough (Jalex, Bak). We continue to lose talented players because we are using the barbell approach (investing term regarding heavy weights on each side. In the football sense, we wrap the cap into 5 guys on one end and have scrubs on the other end). This leaves roster holes.

I have been wildly optimistic for decades (and have been mostly right). Right now, I'm wondering if we make the playoffs next year. Maybe if we are brutally healthy we can take the division, but the Bears have a better coach and want it more. Hell, we couldn't even get it up enough to retaliate for 3 head shots on our QB.