Here are the players who could play their last game with the Bears on Sunday
Here are the players who could play their last game with the Bears on Sunday originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
On Sunday, the Bears will play their final game of the regular season against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The game holds major implications for their future, including their roster for next season.
Some players will don a Bears jersey for one final game with the team on Sunday. Who could those players be? Here are some players who might play their final game with the Bears against the Packers.
Darnell Mooney
Darnell Mooney has already wrapped up his fourth season with the Bears, as he will miss Sunday's game against the Packers with a concussion.
Mooney and the Bears failed to extend his rookie contract during the last offseason and throughout this season. There are no signs the Bears intend to bring back the wide receiver; though, the Bears haven't shown signs against bringing him back, either.
But it's safe to say after two unproductive years with Justin Fields, the Bears likely won't re-sign Mooney. He struggled in 2021 as the team's de facto No. 1 option. This season, Mooney was expected to thrive behind DJ Moore with less defensive pressure.
Unfortunately, that's not how things unfolded for him. Mooney will finish 15 games this season with 31 receptions, 414 yards receiving and one touchdown through the air. That's not enough.
Will the Bears look to grab Ohio State talent Marvin Harrison Jr.? Stay tuned.
Eddie Jackson
It may have been forward of former general manager Ryan Pace to give safety Eddie Jackson a major pay raise after his spectacular All-Pro season in 2018. The Bears gave him a four-year contract worth $58 million in 2020.
Jackson still has one more year left on that deal. But it wouldn't surprise anyone if the Bears cut him loose from and sent him into free agency. The Bears could save $12-14 million this offseason if they cut him, depending on when they do it.
Know this, Jackson has been with the Bears through thick and thin. Regardless of his play --- questionable as it may be --- he wants to remain in Chicago.
“I just, man, I hope I’m here [to see it through]," Jackson told NBC Sports Chicago during multiple sit-downs this week at Halas Hall. "What we building, it’s just special. I feel like I play a key part in it as well. Just to be through the ups and downs that I have been through here and to see, like, ‘Yo, we’re really on the rise.’
"If I have to leave it then, in this key moment, man, it sucks. I mean, it would suck. I can’t picture myself nowhere else, man. I’ve been here seven years. This is home. I got my house here. My kids are here. It’s just home for me. It’s hard for me to see me somewhere else. I would understand it. If I’m somewhere else, I’ll be alright, but I just can’t see myself somewhere else. I don’t want to see it. It's got to be here."
Offensive linemen
There are a couple of key offensive linemen who could see the door out after Sunday's game.
The Bears announced Saturday Lucas Patrick won't play Sunday with a calf injury. The center went on season-ending injured reserve after playing 16 games this season.
Patrick, 30, is at the end of the two-year contract he signed with the Bears for $8 million. He's slipped on several key blocks and hasn't been a reliable interior lineman. His time is likely over with the Bears.
Cody Whitehair, 31, is one of the longest-tenured Bears players through the staffing turnover over the past eight seasons. Whitehair is a versatile lineman, able to play center and left guard. But he's on the wrong side of 30 years old and it's showing in his play.
He has one more season left on his contract, but the Bears could save themselves a $13 million cap hit by cutting him loose this offseason.
Velus Jones Jr.
General managers rarely own up and admit their mistakes. And Velus Jones Jr. is a mistake Ryan Poles has yet to own and admit.
The once 25-year-old rookie came in with great expectations as a third-round pick. He was supposed to bring young maturity and electric route-running to the Bears' wide receiver core. Unfortunately, none of that has shown through two years with the Bears.
Over the past two seasons, Jones Jr. is averaging 16% of offensive snaps. He's primarily a special teams player, returning kick returns and earning 49% of special teams snaps this season.
However, he hasn't always thrived as the team's return man. Last season, he muffed two key punts in crucial games. The Bears immediately stripped him of his punt return title and stuck him to kickoffs. That shouldn't be enough to remain on the Bears as a former third-round pick.
It's time to cut bait with his contract before the team sets a poor example by allowing him to play.
Jaylon Johnson
Let's get controversial.
One of the biggest talking points of this season is whether or not the Bears plan to sign cornerback Jaylon Johnson to a long-term deal. Thus far, both sides haven't been able to meet on a contract. The front office opted not to trade him at the deadline. Now, Johnson will head to free agency this offseason.
He's made it abundantly clear, however, that he desires to remain in Chicago. He's performed phenomenally through four years and earned his first Pro Bowl selection this past week.
But since he's been playing better after negotiations reached a stalemate during the season, he's looking for more than he initially asked for. He originally asserted he didn't intend to reset the cornerback market. But that might be different now.
"At the end of the day, I feel like at times you gotta be more realistic with your circumstances, with your situation and things you have put out there or you haven't put out there," Johnson said on 670 The Score. "I feel like realistically after this season I feel like there's not a thing that you can say that I'm not doing.
"After this year you can't say I can't cover at a high level. You can't say that I can't take the ball away. You can't say that to me that I can't tackle. Realistically, what is it that I can't do that deserves top pay?"
That's why I list him here. All signs point to Johnson and the Bears getting a deal done. But, that's not always a guarantee. At the very least, the Bears could place a franchise tag on Johnson and bring him back for one year at top-five cornerback pay.
We'll see.
Justin Fields
I said we were going to get controversial, didn't I?
Justin Fields poses arguably the most significant storyline of the NFL offseason. Should the Bears continue to bank on Fields' development and hold onto him? Or, should they trade him and draft a new signal caller?
There's a realistic chance Fields plays his final game with the Bears on Sunday. And that game appears to hold more weight than any of the regular season games Fields has played up until this point.
The Bears reportedly could receive a second- or third-round pick in return for trading Fields. In doing so, the Bears would head to the draft to find a new quarterback to lead their team.
Can Fields survive the thinking of the Bears organization and remain with the team? It appears the outcome of Sunday's game will be a telling factor in that answer.
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