CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 06: Head coach Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears looks on prior to the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field on January 06, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears know that they won’t be able to spend freely as they have in the past, so if they want to find help for 2019, some creativity is needed.

It would appear one such way is to see if they can find help from other leagues. Most notably the Canadian Football League. It’s nothing new for NFL teams to occasionally seek out talent from across the border. There have been plenty of good players to come from there in the past including Warren Moon and Cameron Wake among others. Former New Orleans Saints standout receiver Joe Horn came from there as well.

This might explain why GM Ryan Pace has dabbled somewhat heavily in that market so far this offseason. He already signed linebacker James Vaughters from Calgary who had 16 special teams tackles in 2018 and 11 sacks in 33 games. Now the Bears have added another to that list. Saskatchewan wide receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert, a Chicago native accepted a deal to sign with the Bears for OTAs and training camp this summer.

He was signed and eventually cut by the New Orleans Saints last year and worked out for the Bears before heading north. At Ball State, he had 72 catches for 920 yards his senior year.

Williams-Lambert has intriguing traits worth looking at for the Bears

The biggest reason he went undrafted in 2016 is Williams-Lambert doesn’t really stand out athletically. He’s not a huge speed threat, which is always a big thing in the NFL. That said, he doesn’t have good size at 6’3 and something that stands out in his tape are a pair of strong hands. Numerous times you’ll see the man hauling in a tough catch with defensive backs draped all over him. Players like this can have value in an offense.

After the difficult the Bears receivers had in the playoffs against physical defensive backs, it makes sense they would at least explores wide receiver options who are capable of playing a little strong against those types of coverage. The difficult part is Williams-Lambert didn’t face much press coverage at all in Canada. So it’s hard to know whether he’s capable of getting off the jam and into an open release. That is likely one of the things they wish to explore.

Williams-Lambert finished his first year in Canada with 764 yards and four touchdowns. He’s 24-years old with enough potential to warrant a look. With Kevin White likely gone in free agency this offseason, the Bears are wisely trying to keep their size at wide receiver in a favorable position.