Bears signing tight end Durham Smythe |
Dustin Riese
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- 4 hours ago
It's safe to say that the Chicago Bears mean business this offseason. They made a massive hire of Ben Johnson and gave him complete control over who he wanted on his staff. The result was not only one of the more experienced staffs in the NFL but a staff with plenty to offer, as everyone appears to be on the same page.
Hiring their next Head Coach was just the first step in building a winner, as success depends on the talent around Johnson. Well, Ryan Poles has taken that to heart. Since the start of the offseason, he has been one of the more aggressive GMs, trading offensive guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney for a pair of late-round picks. While those deals won't become official until next week when the NFL New Year begins, it's nice to see this team be far more aggressive than in the past, as they are getting a jump on the rest of their competition. Even with the NFL New Year still a week away, some acquisitions can happen now, which is the case for former Miami Dolphins TE Durham Smythe, who and the Bears have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2025 season. The Dolphins recently let Smythe go to create some extra cap space. He was available to sign with anyone ahead of the new year. Smythe also has a previous connection to Johnson, who was the Dolphins' Wide Receiver coach in Miami and worked directly with him during his time there. The NFL is a league of connections, and this is undoubtedly one of those connections. The familiarity between Smythe and Johnson made it easy for him to latch on with the Bears for the 2025 season. Unless you follow the game in depth and pay attention to the entire NFL landscape, Smythe may not be as well-known a player as most, given that he isn't a household name. However, at 29 years old, he has been in the league for quite a while and was the fourth-round pick by the Dolphins in the 2018 NFL draft. He has spent his entire seven-year career with Miami and will now move to the Windy City for his next chapter in his NFL journey. Smythe has never been much of a receiver despite his 6' 6" and 246-pound frame, evident in his nine receptions for 53 yards last season. When you look at his career, Smythe has had some decent seasons. He hauled in a career-best 366 yards in 2023 and 357 yards receiving in 2021, which account for more than half of his total career receiving yards. Across seven seasons, Smythe has picked up 1228 yards on 132 receptions with three scores. That type of production isn't what you would call the starting-caliber play, but with Gerald Everett being released a few weeks ago, the Bears did have an opening for additional tight-end help. Considering he isn't the most fluid pass catcher, some wonder why the Bears would bother bringing him in. Well, the answer is simple. Not only does he have that connection to Johnson, but he knows what Johnson likes to do offensively and will fit in well with his scheme. One of the most overlooked attributes of Smythe's game is his ability to block, as he is a very good run-blocking tight end. Chicago had someone in Mercedes Lewis who did that well last season, but with no indication that he will be back for 2025, the Bears needed to find a way to add a blocking tight end to their room. Smythe appears to be that guy right now, and given that he has spent a few seasons with Johnson already, he will be able to adjust to the new offensive scheme rather quickly. It's no secret that the Bears are trying to get back to some ground-and-pound football despite having Caleb Williams as the quarterback. You have seen this in their continued moves, which are the moves that a power-run team typically makes. As the season nears, no one will complain about that, as the Bears are finally emphasizing improving this roster from the top down and have done so by taking a more aggressive free-agent approach. Chicago #Bears 2025 upgrades:
Teven Jenkins ➡️ Joe Thuney
Nate Davis ➡️ Jonah Jackson
Marcedes Lewis ➡️ Durham Smythe
Coleman Shelton➡️ TBD
Demarcus Walker ➡️ TBD
