A source told Jeremy Fowler that the Chicago Bears have agreed to a three-year, $26.5 million contract with guard James Daniels.
Chukwuma Okorafor and Mason Cole have signed three-year contracts with the Steelers, who have focused on the offensive line during the free-agent negotiating period.
According to a source, the Buffalo Bills have agreed to a two-year, $8 million contract with Levi Wallace.
Daniels, who is 25 in September, was drafted by Chicago in the 39th round and has started 48 games. He started his football career at left guard before moving to right guard for the Bears. He played center during his final two years at Iowa and spent time at the position during the 2019 season.
Daniels was able to develop into a productive player because of his position flexibility on the interior. Daniels was limited to five games in 2020 due to a pectoral injury, but came back healthy in 2021, playing all 17 games at right guard and posting the best pass-blocking and run-blocking grades of his career.
The offensive line was a problem for Chicago. According to PFF, the Bears ranked 25th in team pass-blocking grade and then-rookie quarterback Justin Fields had the second-highest rate of pressured dropbacks in the NFL.
Wallace entered free agency after the best season of his career, after originally joining the Bills as an undrafted free agent out of Alabama. He has started 52 regular-season games.
He stepped up as a leader and played well on the league's No. 1 defense despite the team ending the season on a bad note.
Wallace started all 17 games last season and finished with 2 picks, 10 passes defended, 1 fumbled recovery, and 58 tackles. He was the most targeted player on the Bills, allowing a 56.8% completion percentage as the nearest defender and giving up three touchdown.
He had to fight for his role throughout his professional career, even though he wasn't guaranteed a starting spot in 2021.
He entered the camp in a close competition with Jackson to start opposite White. White suffered a season-ending injury on Thanksgiving, but both he and Jackson saw significant playing time.
White has six turnovers and 30 passes defended in 52 games in four seasons.
The report was contributed to by two people.
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