The rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears reached a new level of intensity last season, and it’s already carried over into the opening days of free agency. Both the Packers and Bears have come out swinging to try to one-up each other, and the Bears may have fired a warning shot when they reportedly agreed to a contract with wide receiver and kick returner Kalif Raymond, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Formerly of the Detroit Lions, Raymond was a role player on offense but is more known for his special teams work. As the replacement for former Bears returner Devin Duvernay, it’s a move that should have the Packers’ attention as they look to solve their own special teams issues in 2026.
Packers Should Take Notes After Bears Add KR Kalif Raymond in Free Agency
The Packers’ special teams unit was a circus throughout the 2025 campaign. Brandon McManus’s struggles were well documented, watching his field goal conversion rate drop from 95.2% in 2024 to 80.0% in 2025, and the Packers also had issues in the return game, ranking 23rd with 23.2 yards per kick return and last in the NFL with 5.6 yards per punt return.
The issues on the field were accentuated by the drama off of it. Former All-Pro Keisean Nixon refused to return kicks in his quest to be the Packers’ CB1, and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was declared the scapegoat for a lackluster tenure that began in 2022.
This is comical compared to what the Bears have done by signing Raymond. Devin Duvernay wasn’t bad on kick returns last season, averaging 26.7 yards per return and 11 yards per punt return. But the Bears felt like they needed an upgrade on the two-time Pro Bowler and former First-Team All-Pro anyway.
Raymond fits that bill as a two-time Second-Team All-Pro and a player who averaged 26.8 yards per kick return last season. He also has a career average of 10.4 yards per punt return, making the Bears’ choice less of a knee-jerk decision for a unit that had the Packers’ number last season.
A muffed onside kick by Romeo Doubs cost the Packers a Week 14 game in Chicago that ultimately decided the NFC North title. McManus also missed two field goals and an extra point in the Wild Card loss to the Bears, and the Packers ultimately had to force Nixon and Josh Jacobs to return kicks when Bo Melton was injured in the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.
More alarming is that the Packers are in no hurry to fix the problem. Bisaccia only left town when he decided to resign last month. McManus is also set to return as the team’s kicker unless they decide to overpay Brandon Aubrey. Green Bay appears willing to cater to Nixon’s CB1 experiment for another season, and their top returners appear to be Savion Williams, who lost the kick return job midway through last season, and Matthew Golden, who averaged 4.7 yards per punt return in 2025.
After watching several other games swing against them due to special teams, one would think the Packers would have gotten the message. But perhaps the Bears’ addition of Raymond could finally send it through.