The Bears are cutting ties with longtime free safety Eddie Jackson and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair. That makes both players free agents now and gives them the opportunity to sign with a team before the rest of the free agent market opens for negotiations on March 11.
Jackson was best known in Chicago for his big playmaking abilities in the back of the Bears defense, including several defensive touchdowns. His two pick-sixes in 2018 led the NFL and gave the Bears their characteristic swagger on defense.
Recently, Jackson was hampered by a foot injury that cost him 10 games over the past two seasons. He did not make the same playmaking impact that the team had been accustomed to in 2023, but in 2022 he won the team’s Ballhawk Award with four interceptions and two forced fumbles.
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Even though Jackson didn’t take away the ball at the same pace last season, he still played an important role as the de-facto quarterback of the defense. Teammates and coaches alike credited Jackson for making sure every player was in the right place and understood their assignment.
“Eddie anticipates fast,” said safeties coach Andre Curtis towards the end of last season. “Really fast. He sees it. He sees it before it happens and he’s communicating, ‘Alert on this motion. Be alert for this.’ A lot of guys can learn that stuff or see that stuff, but can they share it or process it to the other people? Some guys have a knack for that and Eddie, that’s what makes him really cool back there.”
The Bears drafted Jackson in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. Over the course of his seven-year career with the team he intercepted 15 passes, forced 10 fumbles and recovered six more. More impressively he scored six defensive touchdowns from those takeaways.
Jackson earned Pro Bowl honors twice with the Bears and was named a First-Team All-Pro once. He was named a captain by his teammates for the second half of the 2022 season and all of 2023.
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The Bears drafted Whitehair in the second round of the 2016 draft, and he was an immediate starter for the team at center. Whitehair started all 16 games as a rookie and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team at the end of the year.
Over the next several years of his career, Whitehair showed off the versatility that made him a valuable lineman for the team throughout his career. In 2017, Whitehair once again started in every game of the season, but he did it at three different positions. In 2018, he moved back to center full time and had the best season of his career. According to PFF, Whitehair surrendered no sacks, no hits and just 11 pressures on the year. He earned a trip to the Pro Bowl for his performance that season. The Bears voted Whitehair a team captain in 2022.
Whitehair’s durability throughout his Bears tenure was equally impressive as his versatility. Over the first six years of his career, he never missed a game due to injury. Whitehair only missed two games in 2020 due to COVID-19 protocols. In 2022, the injury bug finally bit him and he missed five games due to a knee injury.
"He's always positive, always energetic he brings it every day to practice which is also great for the young guys to see that," said head coach Matt Eberflus last year. "He's a true professional, so ups or downs, he is always going to be the same guy in the building every single day. We really appreciate that from him and the guys gravitate towards him because of his leadership and years of experience he's had playing multiple positions."
In 2023, Whitehair was set to anchor a new-look Bears offensive line at center. However he suffered a hand injury over the summer, and Teven Jenkins went down with two calf injuries, so Whitehair slid over to Jenkins’ left guard spot ahead of the regular season opener. Whitehair eventually moved back to center in Week 5, but he was benched partway through Week 6 after a stretch of poor snaps. Whitehair was relegated to backup duties from Week 11 to the rest of the year. It was the first time in Whitehair’s professional or college career that he was not a part of an offensive line’s first unit.
By cutting both Jackson and Whitehair, the Bears created about $21.7 million in cap space, per Spotrac. The site estimates the team now has around $70 million in cap space.