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Bears Make Signings, Signing With DE Oginjobi Off

The Chicago Bears signed Indianapolis Colts defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad to a two-year contract and Kansas City Chiefs receiver and kick returner Byron Pringle to a one-year deal on Sunday.

 

They also re-signed safety DeAndre Houston-Carson to a one-year contract.

 

Muhammad spent the past four seasons in Indianapolis and is reuniting with new Bears coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams. Eberflus was the Colts’ defensive coordinator, and Williams was their safeties coach.

 

Muhammad has 11 sacks, 30 quarterback hits and three forced fumbles over five seasons with New Orleans and Indianapolis. He had a career-high six sacks last year.

 

Pringle played on a Super Bowl-winning team and had 898 yards on 67 receptions after joining the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State in 2018. He caught 42 passes for 568 yards last season and returned 25 kickoffs for 621 yards, an average of 24.8 yards that ranked fifth in the NFL.

 

Pringle goes from a team that went 12-5 and lost to Cincinnati in the AFC championship game after back-to-back Super Bowl appearances to one that is rebuilding. He also goes from catching passes from one of the game’s best quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes to one coming off an uneven rookie season in Justin Fields.

 

Houston-Carson has two interceptions, seven passes defensed and four fumble recoveries with one returned for a touchdown in six seasons with Chicago.

 

Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi failed a physical Thursday, undoing Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ first big free-agent deal.

 

Poles announced the situation in a statement Friday when the former Cincinnati Bengals player was set to appear for an introductory news conference at Halas Hall.

Ogunjobi injured his right foot during the Bengals’ wild-card victory over the Las Vegas Raiders and was lost for the remainder of the playoffs.

 

Ogunjobi was the most established player the Bears signed in free agency so far, as they tried to rebuild their defensive line in a 4-3 approach. According to an NFL Network report, the Bears agreed initially to pay him $40.5 million over three years.

 

Fifth-year defensive tackle Justin Jones from the Los Angeles Chargers signed a two-year deal with the Bears, while the team finalized a contract with Green Bay Packers wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. Earlier in the week, they had announced the signings of Packers center/guard Lucas Patrick and Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow.

 

The Bears decided to make big changes after going 6-11 and missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 11 years. They hired general manager Ryan Poles to replace Ryan Pace and Eberflus to take over for Matt Nagy.

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