Chicago Bears agree to terms with wide receiver and All-Pro kick returner
1st & North: Are the Chicago Bears building their team the right way?
This week's 1st & North panel discusses: What's the best way to build a team and what's the right way to build a team. Are the Chicago Bears doing either?
The Chicago Bears have added depth to their wide receiver room and a special teams ace to their roster.
Devin Duvernay, who was an All-Pro special teams player for the Baltimore Ravens and was most recently with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has agreed to terms with the Bears. Duvernay's agent, Erik Burkhardt, confirmed to FOX 32.
FOX Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz first reported the news. The Bears officially announced the news Wednesday afternoon.
What Duvernay brings to the Bears
Duvernay had some of his best years as a Raven. He was AP First-Team All-Pro selection in 2021 as a return specialist and earned two Pro Bowl nods after the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
In his NFL career, Duvernay spent four years in Baltimore and one in Jacksonville.
As a receiver, Duvernay was one of the top options in Baltimore during the 2022 season. He played in 14 games and started 13, reeling in 407 receiving yards on 49 receptions. In his career, Duvernay has 977 career receiving yards and five career receiving touchdowns,
However, Duvernay's best skills come in the return game.
He was an NFL All-Pro returner in the 2021 season when he averaged a league-high 13.8 yards per punt return. He also had 676 total kick return yards and averaged 24.1 yards per kick return that season.
In career punt returns, Duvernay has an average of 12 yards per punt return. That's the active league leader in average punt return yards. He's also scored two kick return touchdowns in his career.
In 2024, Duvernay averaged 25.1 per kick return on 14 total kick returns under the NFL's new kick return rules.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 1: Devin Duvernay #12 of the Jacksonville Jaguars catches a kickoff against the Houston Texans at EverBank Field on December 1, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Duvernay shapes the receiver room
The Bears receiver room now has:
DJ Moore and Rome Odunze as starting outside receivers. Then, a mix of Tyler Scott, Olamide Zaccheaus and Duvernay can play in the slot.
Scott and Duvernay can figure in the receiver room and the return game. Scott ended the 2024 season as one of the Bears' primary kick returners. This fits what the Bears are looking for in most of their additions.
Bears' head coach Ben Johnson was asked about what the Bears were looking for in offensive linemen this offseason, and his answer can apply to most of the additions the Bears have made this offseason.
"We want some tough, some gritty, some dirty individuals," Johnson said on March 12. "We love to have some versatility to our schemes, some multiplicity if you will."