Bears claim WR Chris Finke off waivers

The Chicago Bears have made their first post-NFL draft move at wide receiver. But it might not be the kind of splash fans were hoping for.

The Bears claimed wide receiver Chris Finke off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Wednesday.

Finke, a former undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, is a former teammate of Bears tight end Cole Kmet during his time at Notre Dame.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s a Ryan Poles connection with this addition. Finke signed with Kansas City in May 2021, which is when Poles served as the Chiefs executive director of player personnel.

Finke suffered an injury during OTAs and was waived with an injury settlement before re-signing with the Chiefs on a reserve/future deal on Jan. 19. He was waived Tuesday.

Finke joins a Bears wide receivers room that includes Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown and new rookie Velus Jones Jr.