The Bears are using an original-round tender on Meredith (knee), a restricted free agent, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Meredith went undrafted back in 2015, which means the Bears won't receive any compensation if he signs an offer sheet with another team and they decline to match it. The second-round tender only costs about $1 million more and would've all but assured the Bears of keeping Meredith, who came out of nowhere to catch 66 of 96 targets for 888 yards and four touchdowns over 14 games in 2016. He suffered a torn ACL last preseason and missed the whole year, but he expects to be ready for the start of 2018 training camp. The Bears' use of an original-round tender suggests they may not share Meredith's confidence, or else they view his impressive 2016 campaign as somewhat of a fluke.