The Bears on Friday officially announced the signings of outside linebackers Barkevious Mingo and Isaiah Irving to one-year contracts.
Mingo, 29, was selected by the Browns with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft out of LSU. He has appeared in 110 games with 38 starts the past seven seasons with the Browns (2013-15), Patriots (2016), Colts (2017), Seahawks (2018) and Texans (2019).
Mingo has recorded 220 tackles, 10 sacks, 24 tackles-for-loss, 33 quarterback hits, 14 pass breakups, five forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and one interception. He was a member of the New England team that won Super Bowl LI by rallying from a 28-3 third-quarter deficit to stun the Falcons 34-28 in overtime.
Mingo started a career-high 14 games with the Seahawks in 2018. But the 6-5, 235-pounder played predominantly on special teams with the Texans in 2019 after being acquired in the trade that sent three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle.
Appearing in all 16 games with one start last season for Houston, Mingo played 73 snaps on defense and 318 on special teams. In a playoff loss to the Chiefs, he blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown.
Mingo played for the Browns from 2013-15 when Bears special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor served in the same capacity with Cleveland, and the veteran linebacker was with the Colts in 2017 when Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano was Indianapolis' head coach.
Mingo is the seventh player the Bears have acquired from another NFL team this offseason. They obtained quarterback Nick Foles in a trade with the Jaguars in exchange for a compensatory fourth-round draft pick and signed tight end Jimmy Graham (Packers), offensive lineman Germain Ifedi (Seahawks), outside linebacker Robert Quinn (Cowboys), cornerback Artie Burns (Steelers) and safety Jordan Lucas (Chiefs).
Irving, meanwhile, returns for his fourth season with the Bears. Since being signed in 2017 as an undrafted free agent from San Jose State, the 6-3, 254-pounder has recorded 27 tackles, one sack and one tackle-for-loss while appearing in 33 games, all as a reserve.
The Bears have now re-signed six of their own free agents, with Irving joining quarterback Tyler Bray, defensive end Brent Urban, safeties Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson and long-snapper Patrick Scales.
Take a look at new Bears Linebacker Barkevious Mingo in action. A Super Bowl LI champion, Mingo has 220 tackles, 10 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles in his 7 seasons between Houston, Seattle, Indianapolis, New England, and Cleveland.
