Bears could reunite Anthony Hitchens with Matt Eberflus

The Kansas City Chiefs released Anthony Hitchens earlier this offseason, and the Chicago Bears are now showing interest in the linebacker.

The Kansas City Chiefs released Anthony Hitchens early this offseason as a cost-cutting measure heading into free agency. The timing also gave Hitchens a chance to get a leg up on the market. However, things have played out much slower and the veteran linebacker has been waiting for weeks to find a new home.

The Chicago Bears are the latest team to show an interest in Hitchens, and they just might be his best chance to sign before the 2022 NFL Draft.

According to Bears reporter Brad Biggs, Chicago brought in Hitchens for a visit in free agency earlier this week on Thursday. It’s the first known free agent interest for Hitchens (that we can recall), which is a sign that maybe the free agent market is moving once again before the draft.

For Hitchens, the chance to play in Chicago could be a welcome move for the ability to play once again for Matt Eberflus, who was once his defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys early in his career. Dallas drafted Hitch in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and now Eberflus was just hired as the Bears new head coach to replace Matt Nagy after a few seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

The Chiefs initially signed Hitchens four years ago to help rebuild a linebacking corps that needed a significant upgrade in talent. In recent years, the drafting of Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. allowed the team to release Hitchens and his prohibitive cap hit.

Speaking of a switch between the Chiefs and Bears, Kansas City has already brought in a former Chicago defender itself with the signing of longtime Bears safety Deon Bush to a one-year deal earlier this offseason.