The pros and cons of the Bears bringing back Justin Jones

The NFL free agency period will soon begin and sometimes the best free agent acquisitions are the ones you retain, not the ones you add.

For the Chicago Bears, the team has a handful of players on the roster set to depart in free agency this offseason. While the names aren’t top players at their respective positions, a few have a valuable role on the team that could be a detriment if they were to depart and sign with another team.

Last week, I discussed the pros and cons of the Bears re-signing wide receiver Darnell Mooney, today let's discuss a possible departing player on the defensive side of the ball the team should consider bringing back in defensive tackle Justin Jones.

Pros to Bringing Back Justin Jones

Jones doesn’t seem to bring much name value to the Bears defense and is one of the lesser known players on that side of the ball. However, in 2023, Jones put together quite a sneakily solid campaign. He finished the season with a career-highs in sacks (4.5), QB hits (17), and tied his career-high with four pass deflections.

That's a solid level of production from an interior defensive lineman who so far hasn’t  received a high level of buzz or interest as a potential free agent. Jones spent the last two seasons with the Bears playing on a two year, $12 million contract after coming over from the Los Angeles Chargers.

In his two seasons in Chicago, he's totaled 7.5 sacks and 24 QB hits from the interior of the defensive line. He had a considerable improvement in his production and level of play in 2023 playing a crucial position on the defensive line in the three technique.

With head coach Matt Eberflus remaining as the team's defensive play-caller in 2024, the more consistency on that side of the ball, the better. Eberflus himself mentioned Jones' name among the key free agent signings general manager Ryan Poles made over the last two seasons to elevate the entire team. There are, however, some factors that could sway the Bears front office away from bringing him back to Chicago.

Cons to Bringing Back Justin Jones

The biggest concern with Jones returning to Chicago is the money. But not in the way it usually seems. According to OverTheCap, the Bears currently have $46.9 million in cap space, a number which could rise even higher after factoring in potential roster cuts.

The Bears have plenty of money to spend and could easily handle giving Jones an extension while having more than enough to spare, which leads us to the problem. Unfortunately for Jones, the Bears excess in cap space could allow the team to find a more well-known and productive player at the position albeit for a higher price.

The 2024 free agency market will include defensive tackles such as Chris Jones, Justin Madubuike, Christian Wilkins, DaQuan Jones, Javon Kinlaw and D.J. Reader. Each of those are players that the team could instead look to invest in. All are players who could also potentially bring more to the team next season and going forward.

Who's to say the Bears even bring in an interior defensive lineman in free agency? The Bears could believe the team is content at the position after extending Andrew Billings and recently drafting Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens. If the team really wants to add another player to the room, it can also easily be done in a more cost effective way through the 2024 NFL Draft.

My Prediction

This decision ultimately comes down to Eberflus and newly hired defensive coordinator Eric Washington, who comes from a reputable background working with talented defensive linemen. If the two coaches believe highly in Jones, the front office will work to bring him back. If they don't, the team will find a way to fill his role.

I lean toward the latter in this scenario. It seems the Bears can easily find a player to replicate Jones' role in the draft which will allow the team to use their available cap space to upgrade a position of higher need.

Poles and Eberflus were also asked directly about the development of Pickens and Dexter on the interior of the defensive line and both players will likely see more opportunities going forward. Therefore, adding a player who could eat into their snap counts more would be counterintuitive to the entire roster-building aspect.

Jones is a good player who put together a solid season for the Bears in 2023 but he ultimately has fulfilled his purpose to the team. Now it's time for the younger players to earn their way while he looks to land with a new team next season.