The Bear’s Den: February 16, 2018

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

BEARRRSSSS / DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Biggs' Roster rundown: Danny Trevathan remains anchor for Bears at inside linebacker - Chicago Tribune - Danny Trevathan continued to key the interior of the Bears defense and the versatility of Christian Jones along with the emergence of former fourth-round draft pick Nick Kwiatkowski helped last season when former free-agent signing Jerrell Freeman lasted only one game.

Biggs' Bears Q&A: Chances of re-signing Kyle Fuller? Who are the up-and-coming edge rushers? - Chicago Tribune - The Tribune's Brad Biggs answers your questions weekly. This week, a wide range of topics from drafting a wide receiver, finding an up-and-coming edge rusher in free agency, the future of cornerback Kyle Fuller and much more.

LeGere's Chicago Bears offseason positional analysis: Wide receivers - Pro Football Weekly - Nagy and Helfrich seek clarity in subpar Bears receiving corps

Cox: Salary cap space won’t be an issue for Bears in 2018 free agency - Bears Wire - The Chicago Bears can clear plenty of additional cap space by releasing a handful of expensive, under-performing players like Mike Glennon.

Mayer: Who analysts predict Bears will draft at No. 8 - ChicagoBears.com - With the NFL Draft kicking off 10 weeks from Thursday, we take a look at who 13 analysts are predicting the Bears will select with the No. 8 pick in the first round.

Emily: Backing It Up - Should the Chicago Bears Draft Luke Falk as 2nd String QB? - Da Bears Blog - The Chicago Bears have found their answer at starting quarterback, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely set at the position. It remains to be seen who else will be in the quarterback room with Trubisky this year, backing him up.

Dickerson: Free-agency scorecard for Bears' GM: Three years, $141M, 14 wins - ESPN - Since Ryan Pace took over the Bears three years ago, the team has given out the fourth-most guaranteed money in the NFL and has 14 wins to show for it.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Alper: Denver, Las Vegas among finalists to host 2019, 2020 drafts – ProFootballTalk - The NFL Draft will be in Dallas this year for the first time and there will be two new hosts in 2019 and 2020. The league has announced that it has narrowed the choices to host the next two drafts to five finalists. They are Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville, Cleveland/Canton and Kansas City.

Alper: Doug Pederson won’t rush offensive coordinator decision – ProFootballTalk - The Eagles lost offensive coordinator Frank Reich as part of their coaching staff when he took the Colts head coaching job this week and head coach Doug Pederson said he hasn't decided how the team will proceed without him.

Sessler: Joe Thomas lobbies Kirk Cousins to consider Browns - NFL.com - Scheduled to hit the open market next month, free-agent QB Kirk Cousins is set to become the subject of a massive bidding war for his services. Browns OT Joe Thomas wants to put that contest to bed before it starts.

Patra: Larry Fitzgerald will play for Arizona Cardinals in 2018 - NFL.com - Larry Fitzgerald isn't leaving just yet. The Arizona Cardinals announced Thursday that the future Hall of Fame wide receiver will return for his 15th season in 2018.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Noonan: The Packers have one of the worst play-action offenses in the NFL - Acme Packing Company - It’s a big problem, and it seems to be an indictment of the skill position players on the roster. Ken's Note: Noonan is a very good writer, Acme's got a good contributor, when you see his stuff it's worth reading even if you hate the Packers.

Western: Packers & Green Bay not among finalists for hosting the 2019 and 2020 NFL Drafts - Acme Packing Company - Let’s keep our fingers crossed for 2021! Ken's Note: Duh. I've been to Green Bay, there's no good reason to go there, and the draft committee knows that.

Gates: Where should Mike Remmers start in 2018? - Daily Norseman - He started at one spot and finished the year in another

Gates: Spotrac calculates values of free agent quarterback contracts - Daily Norseman - There is a significant gap in value between some of the bigger names

Rothstein: Why the Detroit Lions should use franchise tag on Ezekiel Ansah - ESPN - The imposing defensive end has shown he can dominate a game, but his injury history should scare the Lions, pushing them toward a short-term solution.

Moy: Two packers, Lion & 49er's Thomas part of top 10 rookies who can bounce back in Year 2 - Pro Football Focus - PFF's Billy Moy outlines the top 10 emerging sophomore NFL players who can bounce back in Year 2, and reasons why fans shouldn't panic after a below average performance during their rookie seasons.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Duerrwaechter: The Case For Jarvis Landry - Windy City Gridiron - As free agency creeps closer, much of the media is speculating this possible signing for the Bears.

Wiltfong's Chicago Bears 2018 Roster Turnover: Who will start alongside Danny Trevathan at inside linebacker? - Windy City Gridiron - In this 13 part series we’ll take an in depth look at each position group for the Chicago Bears with an eye towards the 2018 season. We’ll speculate on who stays, who goes, and some potential additions we’d like to see general manager Ryan Pace make.

Curl: Chicago Bears pre-combine “predictive” every-round mock draft - Windy City Gridiron - Spoiler alert: this mock is extremely likely to accurately predict the actual Chicago Bears draft.

IOftenPanic's 2018 NFL Draft: Bears Targets for Every Round - Windy City Gridiron - As we get closer to the Combine, I thought I'd put together some names that I find interesting as possible picks/fits for the Bears at every position and for every round. Obviously it's still too...

EricSoderholm'sbat: Future 50-team NAFL? - Windy City Gridiron - The NFL should forget about Europe or Mexico or other tropical areas of the world while concentrating on North America by considering a merger with the Canadian Football League. CFL teams would...

NFL’s new head coaches: A snap judgment of the 7 hires in 2018 - SBNation.com - The safest choice? Brightest future? Most Reese Witherspoony? We handed out superlatives to the seven new (or old) head coaches.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

2 Minute Drill - Website - iTunes - Andrew Link; Steven’s Streaming – Twitch – Steven Schweickert; T-Formation Conversation - Website - iTunes - Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; WCG Radio - Website - Robert Zeglinski

THE RULES

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