Chicago Bears expected to let Lake Zurich native Jack Sanborn hit free agency, per report

The Chicago Bears appear poised to let Lake Zurich native Jack Sanborn hit free agency next week.

Sanborn is currently a restricted free agent. Restricted free agents are players with three accrued seasons on an expiring contract. If the player’s current team places a tender on a restricted free agent, the team would have the right to match any offer the player receives from another team.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bears are not tendering Sanborn. The 24-year-old linebacker has appeared in 48 games for the Bears over three seasons. The Bears signed Sanborn as an undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin after Sanborn slipped through the 2022 draft without hearing his name. Sanborn has started 19 games for the Bears, including 10 in 2023. He also has been a key contributor on special teams.

Sanborn served as the “Sam” linebacker for the Bears in Matt Eberflus' 4-3 defensive scheme. When the defense inserted an extra defensive back into the lineup, Sanborn typically would be the linebacker who came off the field.

Although he played in all 17 games during the 2024 season, he played only 22% of the defensive snaps. Among all Bears players, Sanborn played the second-most snaps on special teams with 369 snaps (84.4% for the season).

New Bears head coach Ben Johnson hired a defensive coordinator in Dennis Allen who runs a similar 4-3 base scheme as Eberflus, but there were bound to be some changes.

Veterans Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards are likely to remain the primary linebackers. Those two both played more than 98% of defensive snaps.

Sanborn will hit free agency next week. The NFL’s contract negotiating period begins at 11 a.m. Monday, and players can put pen to paper on new contracts beginning March 12.

This move doesn’t preclude the Bears from trying to sign Sanborn to a new contract next week. The minimum restricted free agent tender in 2025 was set at $3.3 million by the league. The Bears could allow Sanborn to test the free agent market and still try to sign him at a lower salary than what the tender costs.

But Sanborn is going to be open to hear offers from all 32 teams.