Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - What are the Bears' top priorities?

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed what the Bears' priorities should be as the NFL's legal tampering period opened.

Open the gates! There's plenty for everyone. No need to panic. There's plenty for everyone. There's plenty. Don't stampede. No need to stampede, sir. It's not even open yet.

We came back early. We've got 10 seconds. 9.8, 7, 6, 5. There comes. I like a countdown. 3. 2. 1.

Happy legal tampering, period. negotiation window. Pretend like teams didn't talk to each other and people didn't talk before this. Doesn't it feel different? Wink, wink, nod, how about that? Doesn't it feel different? I can't believe you just called it

the legal tampering period. You hate that. Why do you think I did it with a mock countdown, Mark? Oh, okay. It's called tone. This news hit just a few minutes ago and this is important. This per Ian Rappaport,

the 49ers are now said to be open to trading Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams sources say if the situation doesn't get resolved. A resolution has not been easy and Williams is reportedly frustrated with the process.

He is due $32 million in salary with a $38 million plus cap number because there's no such thing as a left tackle store. 37 years old. I think I'd prefer to go to the Taylor Decker store of left tackles. Yeah, did Taylor Decker declare himself available? Like, he posted, he posted and said, and basically said, hey, I'm out here.

You guys are looking at this all wrong. We could just call up Jason Peters, get him involved. Get him off the busing boats. Aging. Jason Peters, who told us more about the Bears that year than the Bears coaching staff did. Listen, I'm just saying you could coax him out of, I'm trying to remember if he officially retired. Maybe not. Check those paper.

Does anybody ever retire anymore? For the record, if Alexie, Ramirez can play in the world baseball classic at 44. Perhaps Jason Peters can still play in the NFL. That's amazing. Yeah, it was amazing when he came back like he did to the Bears at the age of 40, and he was pretty effective. We need Jason Peters. He delivered. He was magical because he still had elite skills and still was in good shape and also didn't care. So then he just told people what was going on. The Taylor Decker thing, he requested his release. because he was asked to take a pay cut from $18.2 million.

He is 32 years old, by all accounts, still above average as a left tackle, not considered great or elite anymore if that's where he was at one point in time, but that's what you're looking at. So there's some expensive, but you do have to take care of left tackle, and you must take that seriously, even though they got away with Theo Benedetting it last year and Ozzy Tripilloing it last year and to varying degrees of success. Yeah, I see that. He's very holiday inexpressy.

And I don't mind a holiday and expressy. I had a refrigerator and a microwave. So I knew I was living large. You spent a long time down to the last week. We lost a lot of good men out there. I get it, man. I know the downstate world, man. I got you.

Do you get that complimentary breakfast in the morning? Some of those eggs in you? The face turned into a cinnamon roll. Make yourself a waffle and a little waffle iron. What I did was grab fruit and leave with the fruit. I don't know if I'm even allowed to do that, but the fruit was there. I was like, I'm going to have it, not for breakfast, but for a snack later on. I think they know who you are.

They probably knew you were a guest and they were cool. Don't ever look like you're not supposed to be at the free hotel breakfast. That's how you give yourself away, right? If you look both directions and then run off with some waffles, that might show your guilt. Yeah, just confidence. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. And while we're waiting for some news and we're absorbing more from the NFL as this day is one where you're going to find out which teams want whom. For example, where's Tuatung of Iloa going?

Reports say that Atlanta is interested in his services. That would make sense. We're going to get a lot of those details. But just like we brought up Corner in our previous segment and Brad Biggs telling us essentially you should pay attention to Corner. that asks the question then what is your biggest priority for this team for me last week as of Tuesday at three o'clock it was get a new center that became number one that seemingly has been addressed with the trade for garret Bradbury so now it is more so than safety even for me because I feel like there are a lot of people available who else is playing linebacker for your team

is worried about linebacker some of these other positions just because I feel like, first of all, linebacker while being important, because every position on the field is important, it's less important than defensive line and it's less important than secondary. Until you have like three dudes available. And I guess if Reuben Hippolyte is going to be somebody

who they can depend on, despite being a healthy scratch when he was available and then injured when he played, Noah Sewell's out with the torn Achilles. T.J. Edwards had a broken leg. You're hopeful he's available for when the season begins, but I'd imagine there's a ramp up period there. Now, Noah's brother, Neffi, is also on the team, but the DeMarco Jackson thing was big for me.

You know, the fact that the Bears got that business out of the way, I don't necessarily know. Is he somebody who you trust to start? Like, Mark, what do you think? That's a great question, and I just wonder if they're going to give it a try. They're just going to let him loose, that there was enough of a sample size with, obviously, was very good on special teams. He had that he was. I believe he was special teams, or not special teams.

I believe he was defensive player of the week for the 15 tackle game he had against Pittsburgh. I mean, they had success. Like, A man, Ogbong Mamiga had a couple of nights, or at least one really nice game. It may have been the same game that DeMarco Jackson played well. And so they did have, like left tackle, like patching it together and making it work, they were able to make linebacker work. I was really surprised that you were kind of, either one of you were questioning DeMarco Jackson and signing.

I think that's an excellent signing. Well, does he start? Start. Yeah, I think he will start because, as you said, he was the NFC defensive player the week, and it happened in that 31 to 3 went over the Browns. We have breaking news here on the score. This is from Tom Pelliserro for everybody wondering what was going to happen to the real blankie for Caleb Williams. Alamede Zakias, well, according to Tom Pelliserro, he is headed to the Falcons.

That per sources, seven years after making Atlanta's roster, he has. headed back. So that sounds like that is what is going on when it comes to Alamede Zakias. All right. He can't hurt you anymore. So you don't have to worry about Alameda Zakias on third down or not blocking. Yeah, so seven years after making Atlanta's roster as an undrafted free agent, OZ is back in the ATL. Wow, Tom. It's a lot of acronyms there. On a deal negotiated by B. Parker of Vayner Sports. Farewell, Alamede Zakias.

I thought he would be better. I thought, like, 39 catches 313 yards last year for the Bears. It wasn't all bad with Alameda Zakias. A lot of us thought I remember thinking in training camp just watching those two. It seemed like Caleb and Alam, like he would have been the safety valve and he was at times, but never quite what I had thought. But those are the types of guys that you're going to be bringing in now, having some pretty good depth there right now. You know what Alameda Zakias ended up being, and I'm completely good.

good with it and it was functional and it worked for a time and he served a purpose. He was Caleb Williams training wheels and Ben Johnson's offense. Okay, so you said that linebacker's not your priority. No, linebacker is like I feel like they will find what they need at linebacker. I'm not as concerned about them being able to find a linebacker. My priority is still up front. Like, give me an edge rusher. I think two things.

What do you do when you've already spent a lot of money on it, though? I think you draft. I think you draft, and that's, that's, you know, from a free agent standpoint, yeah, you got to sign the safety. I'm hoping it's Kevin Byard, two years 10 per. That should get the job done. If it doesn't, now, and this is why it can grow to be a bigger deal than what I think it is. I think they're absolutely going to get their edge rusher help from the draft more so than free agency. Not that they won't sign someone in free agency, but let's be honest, it's not going to be Trey Hendrickson, I don't think.

May I throw some names at you? Yes, Marshall, like for possibilities, and this is a guy in my work going through all of the defensive ends and interior defensive linemen drafted from 20 to 32, which I did over a couple of weeks ago. One of the names that popped up was Odafe Owe, who was drafted by Baltimore at number 31 overall back in 2021. Last year he was traded mid-season, but did have seven and a half sacks in 12 games for the Chargers. He is young, 27 years old, 30 sacks in five years in his career.

He has not been an overwhelming guy, but he's a guy who can, you know, seven to 10 sacks in a season. That's one name that you should keep an eye on, I think. He exactly, and he was brought up to me probably about a month ago by Clay Harbor. He is

exactly the type of guy that I could see being functional with this team under the employment of Dennis Allen as he sees fit because he has a certain versatility to him. And what he was able to do in that short stint with the chargers in that system tells me, okay, maybe Baltimore didn't get enough out of him. And now Dennis Allen can get what he needs. I mean, he had 10 sacks in 2024. I like him as a guy because, as you said, he's young, he's got enough experience that now maybe he's ready to take the next level with a payday on.

the line. I like this. Is he dialed a dang well then? No, no. Okay. So that's great. Your top four. Your top four cap hits now. Armenta's sweat edge at 25.085 million. Jalen Johnson, your corner at 25. Joe Tuny is at 21 and a half. Dio, another edge is at 20 and a half. Then it's Jonah Jackson. Let's do six. And 19 and a half for the cap hit. And then it's Grady Jarrett at 18.9. So that That's why, yeah, to a man, if money is not an object from a football standpoint, edge rusher is something that the bears need. But I just, I go back to the concept of how much does Ryan Poles,

after spending all that money, think edge rusher is what they need? Well, I'll say this. This is why Adafi O.A is not Dioddingbo. I don't think this is as much a theoretical, let's take the pressures and try to convert that into sacks. He's had sacks. He had seven and a half sacks. It's not a projection like it is with the Chargers.

He also has a double-digit sack season under his belt. You know who doesn't? Diodeinbo. Wait a second. Was this Ian Cunningham's first actual order of business other than saying Kirk Cousins wasn't going to be there? Was his first signing a lot of days the keyist? Makes sense, right?

Especially when you tie in that connection. I didn't even tie in the connection, but I guess, I guess, yeah. Bear South. Bear South, Atlanta Bears. You know what that tells me is that Ian Cunningham was one that said, hey, hey Ryan, hey man, I want a Lomaday Zakias. If you're the Bears and you're trying to petition to the NFL and you're like, oh, yeah, if Ian Cunningham didn't get a promotion, then why did he sign a Lomede Zakias for his first

order of business? Huh? Because who in their right mind would do that. Yeah. Well, look who he signed. A Lomeda's a keyist. If that doesn't say, give us two picks, I don't know what dies. Ian Cunningham is about to destroy the Falcons on his own.

No, I'm kidding. I'm joking. I'm joking. I will say this. I will say this. I rest my case. Alameda Dakias is a lot cheaper than, I don't know, Alec Pierce, who just got a deal, according to Tom Pellisero,

of four years, $114 million. Yeah, that was never going to happen here. With 84 million guarantee. Alec Pierce. We have conflicting numbers. Uh-oh. What do you have? Showdown, according to Adam Schefter, it's 116.

According to Pat McAfee. So a two-year... According to... I hate when you guys fight over other people's information. No, I'm not fighting at all. She could definitely be right. I'm just saying, this is what Tom said. Yeah.

So it's interesting because the way the payday comes out, those numbers, is like, did you get it from the team or did you get it from the agent? And with Tom Pellazero, he got it straight from the agent because it says C.J. LeBoy and Michael Swenson of Wasserman football. So the Wasserman agency. You want a few other defense events to play with here? But I also want your priority because you haven't given your show. Oh, we're doing the priorities. You know what it is right now? What I need to hear today, and I think I made a prediction that we hear this today somewhere along the line, whether it was on podcast or wherever, is it going to bring back Bayard?

Safety right now, as we sit here today, that is absolutely what I want to know about right now. For Byard, who when he first came here to the Bears, because you've got to look at this relatively, two years, $15 million. Now you would expect that he would make $10 to $12 million per year, probably a two-year-year-old. deal. You say, well, he's 33 years old. Do you really want to do that? The guy's never missed a game and he just had what you could say was his best year yet in the NFL. So I want to know what they're doing.

Is there any chance? Like we don't hear, I haven't heard a thing about Jaquan Brisker personally. I've heard nothing. He's expected to get maybe a three-year, $30 million deal. So that would be actually similar to Byrd, but probably the extra year, whereas maybe Byard, because

of the age, would not get the benefit of the longer contract. So we just went, from the line outward on the Bears defensive unit. Yeah. You said edge rusher. I said linebacker and you said safety. And now I'll say this. When I say edge rusher, I'm talking about their overall priority.

Like this is what needs to be addressed. If we're talking about just what should they have done today, I'm with Grody. Kevin Byrd is the move today. Considering how important it was to this Dennis Allen defense, then I could even make the argument for it being a general priority too for the Bears to make sure you have a safety. And I know it's not ideal to have your safety be one of your best players. You don't want that, but maybe that's just the way it is. So wait, which is your top priority then?

I'm saying eddresher is still my top priority, having someone who can actually get to the quarterback. But at the same time, in free agency, I expect them to address safety first, and Byard should be the call, unless someone's out here paying in $15 million a year. You should be able to get Kevin Byer to come back. Okay, so yeah, I went with linebacker because that was my priority of filling the space.

Yeah, my priority. So I'm still sticking with that being my priority. Filling the space is absolutely edge rush. However you want to define it. I assume the bears are going to sign safeties. I think there will be safeties on the bears next season. I can see them bringing back Elijah Hicks, too, unless Elijah Hicks hasn't signed with anybody. I mean, he's a very good special teams player.

Elijah Hicks, I know people don't hear a lot from him, partly my fault. Great locker room guy, great dude, very well liked in there, strong player. You don't want him as a starter at safety necessarily, but he's a good guy. I wouldn't be shocked if they brought him back for depth. He's a details guy. Like he does what's asked. Absolutely. He has the specialty of special teams and he can get out on special coverages and stuff like that.

Yeah, he'll have a long NFL career just because of that. Some more secondary news. And this is where the quarterback discussion kind of comes into play for me. So we got the news earlier today about the Jacksonville Jaguars agreeing to a deal with Monterec Buster Brown of three years and 33 million. The price on corners is going up. The Raiders, reportedly, according to Ian Rappaport and quarterback Eric Stokes, have agreed to a three-year $30 million deal.

He's getting $20 million guaranteed. That is not a cheap position by any means in the league. So that's why I keep this top of mind when Brad Vig said that. So then that's $10 million per, right? So that sounds about right for a corner. But for corner. Yeah. So I think, you know, when you consider Jalen's a $25 million cap hit.

You know what's another reason? I just thought of this, too, like to staying in the secondary, is that Ryan Poles has said, I've heard him saying various interviews at various podcasts and maybe even here the last two years is that he is, when asked what the hardest position to evaluate is, what would you guys say? Ryan Poles says, slam dunk, no doubt about it, the hardest position in the NFL to evaluate.

What would you guys say? I would say secondary. Yeah. Yeah. Safety. Safety. I would have said corner maybe. She says safety hands down is the toughest bit, which makes me think even more we're

going to get information on either Kevin Byrd or if they have to go to Guaun Brisker because if it's such a tough science in the draft, then I don't think that Ryan Poles is going to. Of course you have to still draft safeties, but he would prefer to. go with the known, the known, then the unknown from Bears. Oh, the known, the known makes it to turn. That's what it is. Are you living in it? Are you coughing in your information? Oh, my goodness. The key is living in it. So much so that you can implement it with a game plan and you know your coach gave you the right game plan.

Wow, this is a big day. Mark the tape right there. You know what? This is so big out. That is, amazing. So you're living in the known and I agree with you and that's the thing about Kevin Byard. Don't forget, that's the man he named check. when he was first made available talking about the off season. You're like, oh yeah, we'd like to have these safety. Kevin Byard, certainly going to have a conversation with him about coming back. And then thanks to our name of Bears Receiver Who Disappointed You Segment when everybody started to bring up on the names, I did laugh because George McCasky,

name check Darnel Mooney, and it doesn't always work out the way you want. Also, to the person 708 who texted us on the text line, Mike Evans to the Bears. Man, I wish, but I don't know that that's happening. Mike Evans, in case you didn't know the long time, TAPA Buccaneers receiver, 12 seasons with the team. He's expected to become a free agent as well. We have a lot more to come here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104 through the score

on this negotiating period day. You can talk to dudes day. I think Marshall, you brought up a good rule change that as we go around the NFL and kind of get into some of the more notable moves that have been made so far, I think that part of it also affects it. Let's get into just some of the details. And yes, more moves that could lead to bear's moves or not next.