CHICAGO _ The Bears added help to their tight ends room with the addition of Demetrius Harris on a one-year contract, NFL Network reported Wednesday.
The Browns released Harris, 28, earlier this week after one season, in which he had 15 receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns. The move, with a year remaining on his deal, saved about $2.5 million in salary cap space, Cleveland.com reported.
Harris played his first five seasons with the Chiefs, four when Bears coach Matt Nagy was their quarterbacks coach then offensive coordinator. Harris made 57 catches for 605 yards and six touchdowns with the Chiefs, including a career-high 18 catches for 224 yards in 2017.
He could play the role of the Bears "Y" (blocking) tight end and also has a lot of experience on special teams.
The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Harris played college basketball at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which doesn't have a football team, before he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs in 2013.
The Bears are in desperate need of tight end upgrades after their group had 46 catches for 416 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Trey Burton had surgery in December to repair the labrum in his hip. In the second season of a four-year, $32 million contract, Burton never looked healthy and totaled 14 catches for 84 yards in eight games before the Bears placed him on injured reserve in mid-November.
Adam Shaheen, a 2017 second-round pick, had nine catches for 74 yards in eight games before the Bears benched him for performance reasons then placed him on injured reserve.
The Bears fired tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride at the end of the season and replaced him with veteran coach Clancy Barone.
