Most Underappreciated Offseason Move the Chicago Bears Made

Lewis brings baked-in value on special teams. That's a role where he's always thrived, and it feels safe to assume the Bears are expecting that to be the case in Chicago, as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, he also has experience at both safety, outside cornerback, and in the slot. That type of versatility could make him especially valuable to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and Co., as they didn't really have anyone with that much versatility last season. They had a few players who could play two positions (Kyler Gordon and CJ Gardner-Johnson), but no one has played three.

While Dillon Thieneman and Coby Bryant will both provide much bigger impacts as full-time starters, it's not a coincidence that they all bring the same level of versatility to the secondary. They added chess pieces that can theoretically line up anywhere across the board in the secondary.

He will be the next man up if Kyler Gordon goes down

Gordon has missed multiple games in each of the first four years of his career. He's one of the league's most effective nickelbacks whenever he's on the field, but it's impossible to trust him to stay healthy. They desperately needed to find someone who could provide starting quality play, and they did that with the addition of Lewis.

While Lewis predominantly played on special teams over his first four seasons, he carved out a much bigger role on defense over the past two seasons. He played more than half of their defensive snaps (54%) in 2024 and reached the 38% threshold last season (even though Buffalo drafted three defensive backs in the 2025 NFL Draft). He clearly earned the coaching staff's trust.

The Bears added CJ Gardner-Johnson in midseason last year, and he wound up playing over 600 snaps over the season half of the season. He was always going to be a one-year rental, though. They were able to land Lewis for half the price of what CJGJ's contract could become with incentives (one year, up to $6 million). That's a rock-solid bargain for someone who will also be an ace on special teams (something CJGJ will never be).

Lewis will also play a vital role in dime packages

Even if Gordon does manage to stay healthy (which is a HUGE if), Lewis will still see the field in dime packages. Gordon and Gardner-Johnson played two games together last season, and they were both on the field for at least 60% of the snaps in both those contests.

Dennis Allen doesn't discriminate based on position. He tries to get his best 11 players on the field as much as possible. While they did significantly improve their depth at linebacker this offseason, Lewis could always sub in on third down and play a key role in that regard. It wouldn't be surprising to see him continue his career trajectory in Chicago.

Lewis is the perfect example of the type of signing that doesn't move the needle in March, but becomes a vital contributor when the regular season rolls around.