One of the biggest Bears impacts this year could involve their wide receivers, and it has nothing to do with losing DJ Moore in the trade with Buffalo.
It doesn't even have something to do with their ability to catch passes or run after the catch. It involves the return game.
It's safe to wonder if they've done the right thing by letting Devin Duvernay leave for Arizona as a free agent. Their veteran return man last year finished 11th in kick return average and made a few of Caleb Williams' comeback wins possible with long returns late in games.
Duvernay didn't have the smashing Pro Bowl success he enjoyed early in his career but a 26.7-yard average on kickoffs is solid. He also was much better at 11.0 per punt return last year than Kalif Raymond was for Detroit. It was the best kick return average for Duvernay since the sixth-year return man's rookie year. Yet, he left for only a paltry $1 million more than the Bears paid him. His cap hit last year in Chicago was $1.3 million and it's $2.3 million in Arizona.
Devin Duvernay saved my life bro pic.twitter.com/aj8xipa4DU https://t.co/fU752qBgSY— BearsShowYo (@BearsShowYo) June 17, 2026A story by Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker discussing the impact of the new kickoff rules implemented last year detailed how important a player like Duvernay was for kickoffs. There were far fewer touchbacks and it will continue to be this way. In fact, Duvernay was one of six players who had at least 40 kick returns. That not oinly was a career high for Duvernay, but 12 more than he had any other year. More returns should mathematically tend to bring down an average but Duvernay's went up. Last year 10 teams had at least four returns of 40 yards, where in 2023 and 2024 there were only two combined, according to Locker. Kick return options less desirable
