Amid speculation about the future of wide receiver DJ Moore, who has become prevalent in trade speculation, the Chicago Bears have more immediate decisions to make on several other players on their roster.
That includes safety Jaquan Brisker.
Brisker spoke candidly about wanting to return after the Bears’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, but it is unclear if the situation will play out that way.
Jaquan Brisker Gets Good News After Bears’ Season Ends
Bears Could Be Priced Out of Market for Jaquan Brisker
The Bears selected Brisker in the second round, taking the Penn State product 48th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Brisker has been a starter since Day 1, and he has played all 52 of his career games as a first-stringer.
He is at the end of a four-year, $7.3 million contract.
“The 2022 second-round pick still doesn’t have an extension, which isn’t the best sign in terms of his future with a team that has a ton of offseason decisions to make,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote in an article update on January 22. “It sounds to me as if Brisker will have an outside market that prices him out of Chicago.”
Brisker faces the reality that he has reached the end of his deal while several of his teammates, including draftmate Kyler Gordon, have received lucrative multi-year extensions, and his own injury history.
Brisker played in all 17 regular-season games for the Bears for the first time in his career in 2025.
He was also impactful, bringing a physical presence to a defense, and specifically a secondary that was not as strong in that area as it was at making plays on the ball. Brisker finished the regular season with 93 total tackles, a career-high 8 pass deflections, 1 interception, and 1.0 sacks.
Bears Facing Questions at Key Positions
The Bears are facing some tricky decisions as they work around their current salary cap number. Over The Cap projects them to be more than $4 million over the limit.
Chicago also has a decision to make on their other safety, the older, more accomplished Kevin Byard.
The Bears figure to target their defensive front this offseason. Their secondary may not be far behind in terms of priority. Their lack of speed on the backend got exposed in high-leverage situations. How Brisker fits into that, if at all, remains unclear at this early stage of the offseason for the Bears.
Free agency begins on March 11, but teams can begin negotiating with players on March 9. The 2026 NFL Draft is in April. A lot can and will change about the Bears’ roster, and possibly for Brisker, before then.