Former Western defensive back signs with Bears
By Jacob Meikel
Former Missouri Western Griffon and current NFL safety Jonathan Owens is staying in the NFC North by agreeing to a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears.
Owens spent last season as a member of the Green Bay Packers. Owens’s snap count with Green Bay gradually increased over the course of the first six games of the 2023 regular season, and eventually saw the former Griff starting at safety for the Packers the final 11 games of the season. Owens spent the first four seasons in the NFL with the Houston Texans and started 19 games for the franchise.
Owens shared his gratitude toward the Packers organization and the fan base via X by saying: “Appreciate it [Packers] for the opportunity. And Packer nation for welcoming me and my wife with open arms, will never forget my time in GB.”
Owens’s wife and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles shared her excitement for the next chapter in her husband’s NFL career with multiple posts on X, one of which also thanked the Packers fan base for the embracement of the couple and then tweeted in a call caps: “CHICAGO HERE HE COMES.”
Owens will join a Bears organization that has been very busy rebuilding the defense. After trading for former first-round defensive end Montez Sweat and then extending the 27-year-old this past season, Chicago got back to work during the free agency period by agreeing to terms with safety Kevin Byard and re-signing defensive back Jaylon Johnson to a four-year deal. The Bears also signed former 49ers defensive back Tarvarius Moore to a contract on March 8, adding to the defensive backs room.
