It is a low stakes contract for a former first rounder who has had limited playing time the last few seasons in Pittsburgh. The Bears signed Steelers cornerback Artie Burns to a 1 year deal. Letting Amukamara walk was a necessary move for the Bears as Amukamara gave up a 66% completion percentage on targets last season, a spike from this 2018 performance. It was quite apparent that Jackson is more of a difference maker at the free safety position, having 6 interceptions in 2018, so the opportunity for him to return to this spot is a strong positive. With Clinton-Dix out of the picture, Eddie Jackson can return to his spot at free safety after making the move to strong safety this past season. Some departures include Ha Ha Clinton-Dix who signed with the Cowboys and Prince Amukamara who was released. There is seemingly more upside to the trade as the Bears only surrendered a 4th round pick.Ī variety of moves happened in the secondary this offseason for the Bears. Foles has produced success under Reid, Nagy (as a coordinator), and Pederson, including a Super Bowl MVP performance in Super Bowl LII. Nagy stems from the Andy Reid coaching tree, which also produced Eagles coach Doug Pederson. Many people also forget Foles has familiarity in the Nagy system. This should be a quarterback competition watched across the league during training camp. I expect both quarterbacks to push each other everyday in practice for the starting spot. Trubisky has not had to deal with this kind of situation yet in his career so this is a major test to see how he can step up to the pressure of competing for a starting job. Second, there is officially an open QB competition heading into training camp. If the Bears end up sticking with Trubisky as the starter incentive based pay won’t be a factor for Foles or the Bears. First, Nick Foles agreed to restructure his contract shifting more of his base pay into performance incentives. While at first this seems like a questionable move considering Nick Foles’ contract and his late season heroics as a journeyman backup, the bigger picture needs to be addressed. Expect bigger things from this front seven that is now headlined by the newly acquired Quinn, a healthy Akiem Hicks and Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, and Khalil Mack. It is easily a major upgrade for this Bears defense as it heads into its second season under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. Floyd struggled with injuries early and never was able to take his pass rush to the next level, even with Mack lined up opposite. In Leonard Floyd’s first 4 seasons he only posted 18.5 sacks while Quinn posted 30.5 sacks in that same time frame. Leonard Floyd was expected to take the leap when Mack was traded to Chicago but the lack of production opened up opposing offenses to regularly double and triple team Mack. The GoodĪ veteran pass rusher who posted 11.5 sacks in 14 games last season in Dallas, Robert Quinn is a stronger presence opposite of Khalil Mack. Here is my assessment on the good, bad, and questionable moves of the Bears offseason. The biggest moves were made on the defensive side of the football which sees a stronger front seven headlined by the signing of former Cowboys edge rusher Robert Quinn, replacing Leonard Floyd who was waived after 4 seasons in Chicago. Offensive additions for the Bears included QB Nick Foles from the Jacksonville Jaguars and TE Jimmy Graham. This led to uncertainty of the quarterback’s future behind the doors at Halas Hall. After a promising second season in 2018, 3,223 yards while completing 66.6% of his throws and 24 touchdowns, the expectations were high in 2019 which saw a quarterback’s play regress. The biggest question surrounded quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The focus for the Chicago Bears this offseason surrounded what to do with one of the league’s worst offenses, which looked poised to make strides after a breakout in 2018. Across the NFL the biggest stories surrounded the quarterback position with big names like Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater, and Philip Rivers entering the market. There was no shortage of activity from Bears GM Ryan Pace as free agency began a few short weeks ago.
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