You have to be pleased with the work being done by Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace so far this free agency. It’s still only “on paper,” but the Bears have upgraded their offense significantly and they managed to keep some key defensive players as well.
From the mainstream media perspective, analysts are mixed on the individual moves, but generally favorable to what the Bears have done. Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback, calls the Bears one of the early winners of free agency. He said if you take the new offensive weapons in the passing game, along with the returning solid running game, and you “marry that to new head coach Matt Nagy’s offensive mind, the Bears will most certainly improve from their position as the league’s third-worst offense in 2017.”
The Kyle Fuller deal has had the most varied reactions. Some believe the Bears were prepared to do exactly what they did — allow Fuller to set his market, then return to Chicago — while other’s disagree with the odd structure of the contract and feel the Bears overpaid.
Bucky Brooks of NFL.com called Pace’s free agent haul a “brilliant free-agent puzzle,” and he’s predicting a break out season from quarterback Mitchell Trubuisky.
The @ChicagoBears have added a lot of offensive talent around 2nd year QB @Mtrubisky10.
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 19, 2018
"I expect him to take a major jump this year."
: @BuckyBrooks // @NFLTotalAccess pic.twitter.com/gNedQUrIFS
Let’s take a look at what the Bears have done up to this point, then get your grades on free agency so far.
New faces
Allen Robinson - WR
Trey Burton - TE
Taylor Gabriel - WR
Cody Parkey - K
Chase Daniel - QB
Aaron Lynch - OLB
Tyler Bray - QB
Staying put
Kyle Fuller - CB
Prince Amukamara - CB
Daniel Brown - TE
Patrick O’Donnell - P
Sam Acho - OLB
Bradley Sowell - OL
Bryce Callahan - CB *
Cameron Meredith - WR *
Josh Bellamy - WR *
* These 3 are restricted free agents that could still end up being signed away.
Moving on
Mitch Unrein - DL
Christian Jones - LB
Andrew DePaola - LS
Mike Nugent - K
Cairo Santos - K
Pernell McPhee - OLB
Willie Young - OLB
Josh Sitton - OL
Marcus Cooper - CB
Quinton Demps - S
Markus Wheaton - WR
Mike Glennon - QB
Jerrell Freeman - ILB **
** Freeman is still technically on the roster, but multiple reports have him out. My guess is there is something with his contract or a medical condition that he preventing him from being released at this time.
I have no complaints on Pace’s moves so far. The only surprise has been losing out on former Chiefs wide out Albert Wilson, but the Dolphins made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Pace quickly moved on a similar player in Gabriel to give head coach Matt Nagy a smaller, shifty speedster to add to his offense.
I give Pace and the Bears an A in free agency so far.
Now it’s your turn, give us your letter grade and your reasoning in our comment section.
Poll
Grade the Chicago Bears moves in free agency so far.
This poll is closed
-
60%
A
-
34%
B
-
4%
C
-
0%
D
-
0%
F