The Saints are signing Bears restricted free-agent wide receiver Cameron Meredith to an offer sheet, ESPN reported Friday.
The Bears now must decide whether they want to match the offer. NFL Network reported it’s a two-year deal worth $9.6 million, with $5.4 million guaranteed.
Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson was the Bears wide receivers coach in 2016, when Meredith broke out with 66 catches for 888 yards and four touchdowns. Meredith missed the 2017 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in an exhibition game.
The Bears gave Meredith, 25, an original-round tender worth $1.907 million and must decide if the extra money is worth what they would get in production from him coming off the knee injury.
If they match the offer within five days, Meredith would be theirs on the two-year contract. The Saints wouldn’t owe the Bears draft-pick compensation if the Bears don’t match it.
Meredith also visited the Colts and Ravens.
“We know we’ll have a decision to make if an offer comes in, and we’re prepared for that,” Bears general manager Ryan Pace said last week at the NFL annual meetings. “I’m not surprised. I think teams are probably weighing the productivity he has had in the past, along with the injury that he sustained.”
Meredith, who played at St. Joseph High School and Illinois State, signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He had 11 catches for 120 yards as a rookie.
In desperate need of targets for quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the Bears brought in three free agents: wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel and tight end Trey Burton. Wide receiver Kevin White also returns for another shot after missing all but one game in 2017 with a broken shoulder blade. And the Bears signed wide receiver Josh Bellamy to a restricted free-agent tender earlier this week.
Meredith is the second Bears player to sign an offer sheet this offseason. The Bears matched the Packers’ offer for cornerback Kyle Fuller last month.
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