The Chicago Bears have spent the early portion of the offseason adding pieces to the puzzle in hopes of taking steps forward in the 2018 NFL season. A large portion of this has dealt with adding talent around second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to put him a better position to succeed under center.

One of the potential assets in the passing game is veteran wide receiver Cameron Meredith, who had recently received a two-year, $10 million offer sheet from the New Orleans Saints as a restricted free agent. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Bears have elected to not match that deal that will allow him to join New Orleans.

Meredith's departure shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that the Bears didn't have much of an internal push toward getting a new deal worked out with him. It also doesn't help his case given that the front office has already added a pair of wide receivers in former Pro Bowler Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel to fill his void.

The Bears had more than enough salary cap space to keep him aboard, but the team decided otherwise to move on. The team could look to the draft to add a more inexpensive replacement with one of their several draft picks while the team. There could also be some hope that Kevin White finally takes a leap forward his play and remains healthy after having just played in five games in his first two seasons.

Meanwhile, the Saints are acquiring another legitimate target in their passing game that could form a formidable duo alongside Pro Bowler Michael Thomas. Meredith had missed the entire 2017 season due to a torn ACL that he suffered in the third preseason game last August. He was coming off a career-best campaign where he recorded 66 catches for 888 receiving yards and four touchdowns. There is no certainty that he will be the player he was prior to the injury, but it is a risk that could be well worth the potential award over the next two seasons.