Which players would the Bears protect in an NFL expansion draft?

The NHL is preparing to hold an expansion draft for the new Seattle Kraken, which allows them to select players from other franchises across the league. Teams are preparing for it by protecting 11 players each from selection while the rest of their players will be up for grabs.

While the NFL certainly isn’t expanding, it got us wondering…if the NFL were to hold an expansion draft, which players would the Bears protect?

Choosing which Bears players to protect from this hypothetical expansion draft was certainly interesting, especially considering age, contracts and depth at given positions.

Here are my picks, following the NHL’s model of protecting 11 players (restricting it to five on offense, five on defense and one special teams player):