WindyCity Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 What needs to happen with the Bears free agents and the timeline to re-sign some before free agency starts on March 14th should be the focus right now before heavy free agency and draft comes up. The Bears have a number of free agents that they should try and re-sign before the free agency period starts. With the number of needs that the Bears have they do not need top open up more. Free Agents Priority [Aggressive Negotiations] Kyle Fuller 5 years 62.5 million/30 guaranteed [Janoris Jenkins] The Bears simply cannot allow good, young players to walk out the door. Fuller had an exceptional season last season and finally really showed the potential that made him the 14th pick in the draft. Fuller made some highlight hits and had a number of passes defensed. Players like Janoris Jenkins and Dre Kirkpatrick did not have the smooth career trajectories of Fuller and signed similar deals. The signing bonus is the same as 2x franchise tag, which I would use as a negotiating tool with Fuller. Prince Amukamara 3 years 21 million/10.5 guaranteed [Adam Jones] Kyle Fuller had a ton of success in off coverage this season and that was allowed because Prince had success in press man coverage. Prince may not generate turnovers and that has always been his issue, but he is good in coverage, does not blow assignments, and he seems to fit in the secondary well. If you pay Fuller you are not going out and signing a big money free agent, you need a solid #2 and that is what Prince is. You can sign worse CBs who generate 2-3 more turnovers a season, while getting beat way more. I think Prince is the right player at the right price point across from Fuller and allows you to move CB way down the list of concerns. *Marcus Coopers money becomes 50% guaranteed on March 16th [2nd day of free agency] clearing the picture at CB would allow for the Bears to cut him and get maximum savings. But if you have 0 starting CBs under contact it is pretty hard to toss Cooper and his option. Would Like Back [Approach Before Free Agency] LB Christian Jones 3 years 10.5 million/3.5 guaranteed [Vincent Rey] He is so big and athletic. He has improved every season in Chicago and he had a really strong impact in the run game and blitzing the QB. He may never be a complete starter or an 3 down impact player, but he has a role and is the ideal 3rd LB. Jones may make more than this, he may wait till free agency, but the Bears should make a strong offer and see if he is interested to stay with Fangio. DE Mitch Unrien 2 years 4.2 million/2 guaranteed [Margus Hunt] I do not think Bullard or RRH did enough that you are ready to hand them anything and Unrien is a reliable backup who plays the run well and can be counted on to do a job when Hicks is no on the field. He is a good locker room guy and a guy that can be the mortar between the bricks. I would offer Unrien solid backup money on the DL and he seems to like it here. The Bears need an upgrade at the backup NT, no sense in shopping for 2 guys in free agency. OLB Lamaar Houston 2 years 6 million/3.5 guaranteed [Lorenzo Alexander] He had a strong finish to last season for both the Texans and Bears, he is solid against the run, and added 5 sacks in 5 games with the Bears. The Bears should see if he is interested in coming back as a vet backup to a high pick. I would make an offer to Houston before free agency starts and see where his head is at. I do not think the Bears can rely on Willie Young or Pernell McPhee, so keeping a cheap backup would be nice. CB Sherrick McManis 2 years 3.5 million/1.7 guaranteed [Neiko Thorpe] He can't play defense, but 1.5-2 seems to the going rate for a teams best special teams player, which McManis is. He seems to want to stay and negotiations and extensions with him have always seemed to be very easy. I will pay him as a top special teamer and not strip Tabor of one of his core guys. P Pat O'Donnell 4 years 8.7 million/4 guaranteed [Chris Jones] O'Donnell is good, not great, and this is more about not wanting to devote time and energy in a busy market to landing a punting upgrade. O'Donnell is not a good directional kicker, but he has a big leg, which is super important in the cold weather and winds of Soldier Field. If he wants more than 2-2.5/year then I may look at other options because 3-5 is starting to get to really good-elite money. RB Benny Cunningham 2 years 2.5 million/1 guaranteed [Fozzy Whitaker] The Bears need a 2nd pass catching back, and I do not think they are going to invest big in the position with Cohen on the roster. I would like to see Cunningham back, he catches well, runs well, and plays special teams. Depending On What Happens [Talk Numbers, But Won't Cry if they Go] WR Kendall Wright 2 years 11 million/5.5 guaranteed [Markus Wheaton] If I strike out on some of my more desirable WR options I would like to cycle back to Wright who had a solid season and had some chemistry with Trubisky. I cannot see him accepting less than Wheaton did last season and I would be willing to pay it if I do not land the guys I am targeting. Wright is consistent, but hardly dynamic and doesn't really have the vertical element that Nagy had in KC. QB Mark Sanchez 2 years 5.25 million/2.6 guaranteed [Matt Cassel] I would look around the backup market to see what is available and the price tags, but I am not interested in spending 5-7 million on a stud backup. The Bears are not competing for a division title next season and if Trubisky gets hurt the season is over. With that in mind I like that Sanchez and Trubisky have a strong relationship and that Sanchez has a ton of valuable experience to share with the young guy. If you sign Drew Stanton or Chase Daniel they are not winning any games with this team so we might as well take advantage of Sanchez's mentor role. WR Dontelle Inman 2 years 6 million/4 guaranteed [Marquise Goodwin] Inman was like a life preserver thrown to Trubisky and the Bears, but then he got really inconsistent and started dropping an alarming number of passes. He is another guy I would cycle back to as a possible depth addition if other options do not work out. To me the connection between Wright and Trubisky is more valuable than what we saw between Inman and Wright. OLB Sam Acho 3 years 3.6 million/1.5 guaranteed [Frank Zombo] If the Bears struggle to find an OLB upgrade in free agency, which seems likely with how bad the class is, they should bring Acho back, give him a multi year deal to be a backup and special teams captain. We know that Acho can start without embarrassing himself, but he offers almost no pass rush. He seems to want to be here, he has taken back to back 1 year deals and he deserves a raise and a little guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogerthat Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 you think the bears get that Fuller deal done outright or they tag him and continue to work on a deal as the season goes on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZBearsFan Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Rogerthat said: you think the bears get that Fuller deal done outright or they tag him and continue to work on a deal as the season goes on? I’d guess the latter. Be nice to not have that $15M cap hit though. Difference between that and the longer deal AAV is essentially the 2016 Kendall Wright contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Yeah but how do you feel about Glennon and Bellamy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindyCity Posted February 10, 2018 Author Share Posted February 10, 2018 6 hours ago, RunningVaccs said: Yeah but how do you feel about Glennon and Bellamy? I would rather 2 members of ISIS be on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugashane Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 7 hours ago, RunningVaccs said: Yeah but how do you feel about Glennon and Bellamy? Windy was mercifully excluding them lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBears019 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 20 hours ago, WindyCity said: I would rather 2 members of ISIS be on the team. Talk about an explosive offense...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxguy7 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 11 hours ago, CBears019 said: Talk about an explosive offense...? Put them on defense and they would take someone's head right off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.