NFL Free Agency: Chicago Bears to sign former Carolina Panthers QB PJ Walker
Former Carolina Panthers quarterback PJ Walker has agreed to a contract with the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports. It’s a two-year contract worth up to $5 million, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported.
The expectation is Walker will back up Justin Fields after starting five games for Carolina in 2022. He was part of a rotation at quarterback as the Panthers rolled out Walker, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold as their starters. Mayfield has agreed to a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Darnold is heading to the San Francisco 49ers.
Walker will also re-join former Panthers wide receiver DJ Moore in Chicago. The Bears acquired Moore as part of their blockbuster trade last week, sending the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina for Moore, the Nos. 9 and 61 overall picks in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in 2025.
Given the turnover at quarterback, the expectation is the Panthers will take a quarterback atop the draft — if they don’t trade down, as reports suggest they could. The decision could come down to Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, who have both been atop draft boards this offseason.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.