The Bear’s Den: January 18, 2017 - Is Marquess Wilson gone?

The Den will be taking a look at one of the Chicago Bears' 2017 unrestricted free agents (UFA's) and restricted free agents (RFA's) each day until we have knocked out the list.

I will be talking about the player, whether I personally would sign the player and to what contract, and what my best guess the Bears will do with him.

Today's UFA is Marquess Wilson, the enigmatic talented-yet-fragile young wide receiver for the Chicago Bears. It’s hard to believe that a guy who has played out his rookie contract is as young as Wilson still is, he’s only 24 at the age of this writing.

Wilson’s career path has been all about two things in Chicago, potential and injuries... most specifically, three injuries to the same leg.

According to his Bears bio, Wilson was a 2013 seventh-rounder (and one of the few surviving Phil Emery picks on the roster), Wilson has appeared in 28 games, starting 13 of them. For his career he has 47 receptions for 617 yards and 2 touchdowns. He made his NFL debut October 6, 2013 vs. New Orleans, and recorded his first catch October 20, 2013 at the New York Giants and his first touchdown catch December 15, 2014 vs. New Orleans... Wilson notched his first 100-yard receiving game November 22, 2015 vs. Denver (102 yards)... 2015 saw him with career-highs in receptions (28) and receiving yards (464).

His biggest career game came recently in week 12, the Bears 27-21 loss to Tennessee, where he grabbed 8 catches for 124 yards and a TD. The next game, against San Francisco, Wilson re-injured his leg and was done for the year.

Interspersed with all of this has been three lengthy stays on IR. He managed to play in 31 games out of the 64 he was eligible for.

The most troubling part of Wilson’s career path isn’t just the three injuries, it’s the fact that all three injuries have happened to his left foot. Is there an underlying structural issue? I don’t know.

Bottom line, without writing a 300-page thesis on a backup wideout, the Bears will have to determine if his obvious skills are worth the hassle of dealing with his frequent injuries. Wilson is an effective lower-order WR and spot starter, but his special-teams value is nil.

Would I bring Wilson back next year? I would sign him to the 90-man vet-minimum and let him try to win a job next year. I also wouldn’t be in the least upset if they don’t.

Do I think the Bears will bring him back? Probably not. They are more likely to move on.

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

BEARRRSSSS

Fishbain: Howard, Whitehair, Floyd represent Chicago Bears on PFWA's All-Rookie Team - Pro Football Weekly - Bears tied the Chargers for the most players on the team

Mayer: Howard spearheads fundraising effort - ChicagoBears.com - Determined to help find a cure for the disease that claimed his father's life, Bears running back Jordan Howard is leading a fundraising effort to benefit the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.

Mayer: Three Bears earn All-Rookie honors - ChicagoBears.com - Bears running back Jordan Howard, center Cody Whitehair and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd have all been selected to the PFWA's NFL All-Rookie Team.

Kwiecinski: Pro Football Writers of America name 3 Chicago Bears to 2016 All-Rookie team - Bears Wire - If the 2017 NFL draft is anything near as successful as 2016, the Bears could be back to relevancy sooner than later. Three Chicago Bears rookies - running back Jordan Howard, center Cody Whitehair and linebacker Leonard Floyd - made the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie team, honoring...

Morrissey: GB once 'reached' in draft with Aaron Rodgers; Bears' turn now? - Chicago Sun-Times - They have a chance to choose a star QB with 3rd pick overall.

Emma: Bears’ Howard, Floyd, Whitehair Named To All-Rookie Team - CBS Chicago - The Bears and Chiefs tied for the lead with three rookies apiece being honored.

Krinch: Accolades keep pouring in for Bears' 2016 rookie class - CSN Chicago - Jordan Howard, Cody Whitehair and Leonoard Floyd all made PFWA's 2016 All-Rookie Team on Tuesday.

DRAFT / PROSPECTS / FREE AGENCY

2017 NFL Mock Draft: Defensive backs rise to the top - EndZoneScore.com - Chicago Bears – Jamal Adams SS LSU. Jamal Adams is actually good enough to be the third pick in the draft. He probably won’t end up being drafted that high, but his talent is worthy of this selection.

Jeremiah: Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 prospects for 2017 NFL Draft - NFL.com - Defensive players occupy the first five spots in Daniel Jeremiah's initial ranking of the 2017 draft's top 50 prospects, with Myles Garrett leading the list. The top-rated QB? He's listed at No. 15.

Perez: Alabama star tight end O.J. Howard will play in 2017 Senior Bowl - Bears Wire - Alabama tight end O.J.Howard will play in the 2017 Reese's Senior Bowl

Perez: Is Mike Glennon the answer at QB for the Bears? - Bears Wire - Is Buccanneers free agent QB Mike Glennon the answer for the Chicago Bears?

POLISH SAUSAGE

Sessler: Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan the favorite for 49ers' job - NFL.com - With Josh McDaniels out of the running for the open 49ers head coaching job, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is now the favorite to take over in San Francisco.

Florio: Derek Carr helps find missing child - ProFootballTalk - The social-media platform known as Twitter can be used for plenty of good things, and for plenty of not-so-good things. Here's one very good thing for which it recently was used: A retweet from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr of a message aimed at finding a missing boy resulted in a reply with inf...

Sisti: Relocation mess & the future of the Lightning Round Podcast - Bolts From The Blue - Garrett Sisti and Jamie Hoyle are back with another episode of the Lightning Round Podcast.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Bears expected to hire Jeremiah Washburn as offensive line coach - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have started to restock their coaching staff.

Wiltfong: Ten Thoughts on the NFL - Windy City Gridiron - Check out my Thoughts on the NFL this week, including my picks for the Conference Championship games. Be sure to chime in with your own thoughts in our comment section!

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears have 3 selected to the PFWA All Rookie Team - Windy City Gridiron - Chicago Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace picked three players that made the PFWA All Rookie team. Here’s the full squad;

FANPOSTS

FanPosts - Recent - Windy City Gridiron - Here's a link to our FanPost section, where YOU have the opportunity to contribute to Windy City Gridiron. Take a few minutes and write a post about what you are thinking about regarding the Chicago Bears, and there'a chance it will be linked right here in the Den.

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