Chicago Bears sign WR Zavion Thomas

Zavion Thomas's four-year, $6.8M deal with the Chicago Bears earns a C+ Contract Value Index (CVI), landing in fair-deal territory for a receiver at this salary tier — the $1.7M AAV is essentially the floor for a rostered NFL wideout, which tells you everything about where Thomas sits on the production spectrum right now. At this price point, you're not acquiring a weapon; you're acquiring a developmental asset or a depth piece who can fill a practice squad-to-active-roster pipeline role, and the Bears appear to be signing Thomas with exactly that utility in mind. The CVI holds steady precisely because the financial exposure is minimal — with only $1.4M guaranteed against a $6.8M total commitment, Chicago can move on without meaningful cap consequence if Thomas doesn't develop into a legitimate contributor. That structure is smart roster management, the kind of low-floor, low-ceiling roster construction that keeps a front office flexible without locking in dead money. Where the CVI stops short of a higher grade is the production question: at below-average or replacement-level value for a receiver, the Bears need to see something tangible before this deal looks like anything more than a placeholder signing. With Chicago sitting at 11-6 as the NFC North's second seed and 110 days until the 2026 regular season opens, the window for Thomas to carve out a legitimate role is real but narrow — this is a make-or-miss offseason addition, not a foundational piece.