The Chicago Bears made several additions to their receiving corps during the 2025 offseason, but that hasn’t stopped them from eyeing a former Pro Bowl wide receiver as a potential roster signing before kicking off training camp.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears recently hosted veteran wide receiver DJ Chark — one of the top unsigned free agents — for an official visit as the 28-year-old continues to search for his next team ahead of the 2025 regular season.
Chark has caught 216 passes for 3,100 yards and 24 touchdowns over his first seven seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl in 2019 as a 1,000-yard receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Most recently, he played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, but an early-season hip injury limited him to seven games and just four total catches.
Now, Chark says he is weighing his options, which could include the Bears if they make him a contract offer to join their roster following his recent visit.
“It depends,” Chark said last week, Kyle Odegard of Sports Casting. “It will have to be something that makes sense, from a family perspective and also from an X’s and O’s perspective. Getting up and going to any team just for the excitement — I’ll always love the game, but at this point, putting myself and my family in a great position is what’s ideal for me.”
Bears’ Interest in DJ Chark is Puzzling, Given Depth
Chark is a solid and experienced player who deserves to garner attention from teams that are seeking to improve their receiving depth for training camp. But the fact that the Bears are among the teams showing an interest in potentially signing him is puzzling.
The Bears took the necessary steps to fortify their receiving depth during the offseason. While they did not re-sign veteran Keenan Allen — who remains unsigned — they picked up veterans Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay and Miles Boykin in free agency and selected former Missouri standout Luther Burden III in the second round of the draft.
Additionally, the Bears added another highly-touted pass-catcher in the first round of the draft, cashing in their No. 10 overall selection on star tight end Colston Loveland.
The Bears are also returning three of their top contributors from 2024 between starting wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze and starting tight end Cole Kmet, which begs the question: Where would Chark even begin to fit into that receiving picture?
Perhaps the Bears are simply curious and wanted to do their due diligence on Chark. Or, with veterans still trickling in, maybe they are preparing for an injury designation that could impact the availability of one or multiple of their receivers during camp.
Will Luther Burden III Miss More Time During Camp?
Speaking of injuries, Burden’s status is still unclear heading into the start of camp.
In the spring, Burden suffered what Johnson described as a “soft-tissue” injury during rookie minicamp and did not practice during voluntary OTAs or mandatory minicamp. Johnson didn’t mince words when talking about what Burden missed, either.
“He misses a lot,” Johnson said in June. “Any time you’re not out there, if you’re in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you’re losing valuable time; valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates, the ability to build the trust that we’re talking about.”
The good news is Burden will have plenty of time to make up what he missed and start building on-field chemistry with quarterback Caleb Williams before the season begins, but doing so will be much harder for him if he is not ready to go at the start of camp.
The Bears did not place Burden on one of their injury lists when rookies reported for the start of camp on July 19, but they could still make a move — if he is not healthy — when the rest of their veterans report on July 22 before July 23’s first camp practice.
For now, fans will just have to hope for the best.
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