Bears prioritizing Nick Kwiatkoski?

[soulman]

Bears prioritizing Nick Kwiatkoski as top free-agent target

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2020/03/01/chicago-bears-focused-on-re-signing-inside-linebacker-nick-kwiatkoski-in-free-agency/

Alyssa Barbieri

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7 hours ago

The Bears have a decision to make at inside linebacker this offseason. But if they’re to have their way, they’ll re-sign one of their veterans to line-up opposite Roquan Smith.

Chicago is expected to prioritize re-signing inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski in free agency, according to Chris Emma of 670 the Score.

Kwiatkoski shined in relief of the injured Danny Trevathan last season. Now, the Bears will have to pick Kwiatkoski or Trevathan — and it sounds like Kwiatkoski would be their top choice.

While Trevathan has been an effective contributor and leader in Chicago’s locker room in his four years with the Bears, the fact of the matter is that he’s 30 years old and has a history of injuries. Trevathan has missed 16 games since signing with the Bears prior to the 2015 season.

Then you have Kwiatkoski, who took full advantage of his opportunity in place of Trevathan. Kwiatkoski had career highs with 76 combined tackles, three sacks, four pass breakups and a safety, as well as one forced fumble.

“He took full advantage for his opportunities when he got them,” general manager Ryan Pace said. “You tip your hat to him. We talk about drafting and developing players. With him being a fourth-round pick, we’re proud of where he got to.”

The only problem is, Kwiatkoski will be a viable target of many teams in search of an inside linebacker, including the rival Packers. There’s no question Kwiatkoski is going to get paid — roughly $7-8 million — it’s a question of it the Bears can afford him, given the other areas of need this free agency, including quarterback and tight end.

The Bears are expected to make a run at an experienced veteran quarterback to challenge Mitchell Trubisky, and that could ultimately be the difference between re-signing Kwiatkoski and settling elsewhere.

Three of Chicago’s inside linebackers are set to hit free agency — in Kwiatkoski, Trevathan and Kevin Pierre-Louis — and the Bears need to lock up Kwiatkoski or Trevathan heading into 2020.

If the Bears can’t land Kwiatkoski, Trevathan would be the primary target and serves to be a cheaper option.

[soulman]

I would hope they would prioritize re-signing him.  I love Danny Trevathan and what he brings to the team but he's also a guy with a significant injury history whose turning 30 and has only played one full 16 game season out of four in Chicago AND missed 15 games in 2014 when playing here in Denver.

If we discard his rookie year he's started just 77 out of 112 games over 7 seasons missing nearly 1/3 of them due to various injuries.  I love the guy.  He's a warrior but also not someone we should be looking at handing a lengthy deal to.  IMHO you almost have to put the money on Kwiatkoski whose three years younger and should now just be hitting his prime although I might question the $7-$8 mil AAV number.

As for the GB rumors they have less cap space right now than we do so is their interest real of is this another ploy to drive up Kwiatkoski's cost to us like they've done with Fuller and Amos.  If GB is truly on his trail as well that would mean they plan to let Blake Martinez sign elsewhere in FA.  I'd love to keep him but I wouldn't get into a bidding war and over pay.  Kwit is good but he's no Brian Urlacher and if necessary we can always bring DT back on a shorter term deal and possible Pierre-Louis as well.

[AZBearsFan]

I don’t think we have the luxury of spending $7-8M annually on our 2nd most important ILB right now. 

[soulman]

9 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

I don’t think we have the luxury of spending $7-8M annually on our 2nd most important ILB right now. 

Well we've spent an average of $7 mil a year of Trevathan and his deal was signed 4 years ago so if we do the numbers I'd say something near that isn't out of the question for Kwiatkoski and we have Roquan Smith still under his rookie deal for another two years with cap costs of $5-$6 mil.

This is where getting Floyd's number down is pretty important.  Are we really gonna pay $13 mil to a guy who by all accounts was no more valuable or productive in 2019 then Kwiatkoski?  If we can get Floyd extended in that same $7-$8 mil AAV range there's the money saved to pay Kwiatkoski.

So here's a reasonable question.  If it came down to one or the other which do you set free to set their MV in FA?

Edited March 2, 2020 by soulman

[The_Romen]

Also have to factor in that the cap should be rising with the new CBA... If its 7mil for him now, that won't look nearly as bad in the next few years.

[abstract_thought]

Why does Pace put so much emphasis on non-premium positions?

[G08]

5 hours ago, The_Romen said:

Also have to factor in that the cap should be rising with the new CBA... If its 7mil for him now, that won't look nearly as bad in the next few years.

Bingo, which is why I think we're gunning for Hooper and based on what that costs us we'll sign Kwiat or Trevathan.

I, for one, would almost rather see Danny T come back here if he's going to be cheaper than Nick.

[beardown3231]

1 hour ago, abstract_thought said:

Why does Pace put so much emphasis on non-premium positions?

Because when he drafted Trubisky, he thought he would be good, not complete dogs***. Since he was drafted he's prioritized non-premium spots because he was doing his best to surround Trubisky with talent. Unfortunately he didn't do a great job (Gabriel, Burton) plus Trubisky is bad. Bad combo.

[soulman]

7 hours ago, The_Romen said:

Also have to factor in that the cap should be rising with the new CBA... If its 7mil for him now, that won't look nearly as bad in the next few years.

That's my thinking as well but to control the structure of the deal we need to get him signed before FA begins or we may end up with GB making another front loaded offer that would be tougher to match.  They sure do have an appetite for our defensive players.

To me the key is in giving him enough of a signing bonus that we can cut his base salary to a vet minimum while spreading the SB out over a 3-4 year deal.  Then we can bring his 2020 cap costs down to maybe the $3-$4 mil range.  Then a salary jump or a gtd roster bonus in year two that takes care of the rest of his guaranteed $$$ along with salary jumps in year three and four if we go that long.

If it's done well we can be out of the deal after year two if he's not playing up to the level of his deal and also when Smith's extension is likely to kick in.  We have him for two more years under his rookie deal so why not keep taking advantage of that just as we have with Trevathan?  We can debate all day long whether or not Kwit is worth $7-$8 mil but if the market says he is and we want to keep him we'll have to pay MV and if we act rather than react we control the structure to our own advantage.  IMHO we gotta at least take a shot.

Edited March 2, 2020 by soulman

[soulman]

1 hour ago, abstract_thought said:

Why does Pace put so much emphasis on non-premium positions?

That's a good question but in this defense with the way we use our ILBs is it really a non-premium position?

Kwiatkoski had 3 sacks, 8 TFL, 4 PD, 1 pick and 76 tackles in just 8 starts.  In contrast Roquan Smith had 2 sacks, 5 TFL, 2 PD, 1 pick and 101 tackles in 12 starts.  Between them that's a whole lot of big plays in only 20 combined starts.  In contrast both were far more productive than Leonard Floyd which is why I keep pushing an extension to bring his cap cost down. Or a trade if possible.

OLB/Edge might be seen as a "premium position" on some teams but on the Bears our ILBs are pretty damn productive players in all three phases of defense.  In all likelihood we can bring DT back on a 2 year deal if it comes to that but Kwit is another great example of a mid round pick we've developed into a very good football player and IMHO we should be willing to stretch to keep those types.

[topwop1]

Kwit is a solid player but $7-8M per year good?  Dang I don't know about that.  I think I'd let him test FA if that's his asking price.

[AZBearsFan]

1 hour ago, G08 said:

Bingo, which is why I think we're gunning for Hooper and based on what that costs us we'll sign Kwiat or Trevathan.

I, for one, would almost rather see Danny T Icome back here if he's going to be cheaper than Nick.

To me, Kwit is this year’s Adrian Amos - a guy I’d like to see us keep but only up to a certain price point. Kwit was pretty good last year but he’s still a player with clear limitations in the pass game, and we are still in a division where we will play 6 times a year against Hockenson, Irv Smith and whoever GB adds at TE (maybe Hooper), plus Aaron Jones and Dalvin Cook out of the backfield. I don’t think Kwit can consistently hang with any of them, and that’s an issue for me if we’re giving him $8M a year. He’s a solid starter but he’s probably getting borderline top 10 money at his position as a UFA. I think he’s looking at something Jordan Hicks-like (4/34 with 20 in total guarantees), and Hicks is 11th among ILB in AAV. Those are bad contracts IMO, especially for a team with several needs and without a ton of cap flexibility. 

Depending on DT’s price tag, I’d almost rather see KPL and a rookie to compete, put the money toward a more premium position upgrade. I liked what we got from KPL last year, and there are several guys I like in rounds 2 or 4 to fill the role next to the guy in Roquan we’re expecting to be THE GUY. I’m a huge fan of the idea of Logan Wilson next to Roquan but I think he’s going to end up in round 3 where we don’t currently have a pick.

The ILB spot next to Roquan to me is one where we need a starter we are comfortable with, but also one on which I put a lower priority than most of our open starter spots because it could really be a 2-down position depending on what we have at safety. If we were to retain Bush or bring in a bigger safety as our top depth guy that LB could be off the field entirely on passing downs. Bush played as a 3rd safety on occasion last year and we didn’t appear notably worse for wear for it. 

That allowing both DT and Kwit to sign elsewhere gives us a pretty real shot at a higher comp pick next year is an additional benefit too. We may be in a spot next offseason where we’re looking to move up in the draft for a QB and that additional draft capital could be really important for making that happen. 

[malagabears]

9 hours ago, The_Romen said:

Also have to factor in that the cap should be rising with the new CBA... If its 7mil for him now, that won't look nearly as bad in the next few years.

Bingo, if the rumors are true you can backload 2 or 3 deals because the CAP will go up at least 20M by all accounts in 2021. 

[WindyCity]

Kwik should probably be the priority INTERNAL free agent.

I think paying him 7-8 is ludicrous if it costs you an upgrade at RG or TE.

[soulman]

I tend to agree with AZ that Kwit is somewhat this years Adrian Amos so we take our best shot and hope it's good enough.  One advantage we do have is we do have that option of bringing DT back if it makes more sense and then hope he can play another year without injury. I didn't see a whole lot of difference between the two other than Kwit being a very good pass rusher from the ILB spot.

If it ends up being DT over Kwiatkoski we still have a solid ILB and it's not impossible that Pierre-Louis might also return.  Other than that we can look to the draft hoping to find another like Kwiatkoski who in two years is ready to start at ILB.  Much like Amos I don't believe we're gonna be able to expect much of a "hometown discount" so it's up to Pace to gauge his value to us and make a solid offer.