Restricted free agency doesn’t get even a tenth of the attention unrestricted free agency does. There is a reason for this. The pool of players is smaller, and too often, the cost of signing one is way too high. Exceptions are possible though. It always depends on the situation. The Chicago Bears have to consider every avenue if they want to improve going forward. So if an RFA out there makes sense, then GM Ryan Poles can and will explore it.
One name that should be drawing more attention than it has is Azeez Al-Shaair. The former undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic was little more than a rotational backup during his first two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. That changed in 2021. Al-Shaair secured a starting job at outside linebacker and finished second on the team with 102 tackles. This despite missing four games. He also had two sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble.
Azeez Al-shaair with the huge forced fumble pic.twitter.com/5nDxMmiNE9
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) December 6, 2021
Azeez Al-Shaair's concentration for the pick 🤭
(via @thecheckdown)pic.twitter.com/5bF3dQMjdn
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 5, 2020
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Al-Shaair makes a ton of sense in several ways.
He is still only 24-years old. Plenty young enough to still get even better. At the same time, his price tag won’t be too high since he’s only had one season as a starter. Lastly, the Chicago Bears have a pressing need for linebackers. Especially if they plan to keep Roquan Smith in the middle, they have no ideal option on the outside as of this moment. Al-Shaair would be a worthwhile gamble.
The possibility depends on what the 49ers do regarding his contract. They can still apply a 2nd round tend to it before free agency begins in two days. Yet as of writing this, that hasn’t happened. So they may let the young defender test the market. If that is the case, then the Bears have every reason to make a concerted push to bring him east. He could be a big help to this defense.
