The Bear’s Den, March 19, 2019

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

BEARRRSSSS / FREE AGENCY / DRAFT

Wood: How Well has Ryan Pace drafted? (Spoiler Alert: Very.) - Da Bears Blog - The Bears were really good in 2018, and are poised to be good for the next few years. The man responsible for that turnaround is Ryan Pace. He has used a combination of draft picks and free agents to assemble nearly the entirety of one of the most talented rosters in football.

Emma: Bears To Re-Sign Punter Pat O’Donnell - 670 The Score - O’Donnell, the Bears’ punter since 2014, will sign a two-year, $4-million deal.

Emma: Bears’ New Winning Culture Appealing For Free Agents - 670 The Score - After a turnaround and NFC North title, the Bears’ culture has finally become an attraction in free agency.

Mayer: Bears’ rivals have bolstered their defenses - ChicagoBears.com - While the Bears have signed six players since the start of free agency, we take a capsule look at the moves their NFC North rivals have made since the beginning of the new league year.

Medina: The Bears’ Best Shot at an Elite Draft Prospect Might Come Out of an Imperfect Situation - Bleacher Nation - Top draft prospect Montez Sweat participated in the Combine despite reportedly having what was deemed a “low-risk” heart condition.

Medina: Khalil Mack Trade Wins Award as the Best in All of Sports … FOR THE RAIDERS?!? - Draft Wire - Nerds believe the Raiders won the Khalil Mack trade.

Medina: The AAF Has Produced Some Surprisingly Talented Kickers for the Bears to Consider - Draft Wire - Elliott Fry, Younghoe Koo, and Nick Rose haven’t missed a field goal for their respective AAF teams.

2019 NFL free agency: Updated top 101 NFL free agents - NFL.com - Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling have combined their personal rankings to formulate NFL.com’s Top 101 Free Agents of 2019. Who’s the No. 1 player on the board? Which QBs made the list? Ken’s Note: One thing that jumps out at you when reading this list is when you get down to Clinton-Dix and see that number he signed for... then scroll up and down and compare that to the guys around him. Nobody else is even ballpark close to that low of a number. Team friendly is an understatement.

Wiederer's free-agency storylines: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s motivation, the Cordarrelle Patterson riddle and a reprimand on social media hype - Chicago Tribune - As the Bears continue through free agency, we take a deeper look at the their gamble on safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, their plans for receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and a bit of over-the-top hype for the recent signees.

Bear Download podcast: Analyzing the Bears in free agency and the swap of Adrian Amos and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix - Chicago Tribune - Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer break down the Bears' start to free agency, starting with the Bears-Packers swap of safeties Adrian Amos and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix...

Chicago Football Madness: A bracket of Bears legends, goats, and most everyone in between - NBC Sports Chicago - What is Chicago Football Madness? Glad you asked!

Under Center Podcast: Ep. 193: A Special Chicago Football March Madness Edition with Alex Brown and John "Moon" Mullin - NBC Sports Chicago - Breaking down our Chicago Football Madness bracket, one region at a time.

Cox: Analytics conference says Raiders trading Mack to Bears was best transaction of 2018 - NBC Sports Chicago - When the Oakland Raiders traded Khalil Mack to the Bears, the whole world seemed to crown Ryan Pace as the winner of the deal. Ken's Note: Great, how about these good analytics people send us some more of these bad deals?

Meet Miles Sanders, the next stud prospect in Penn State’s RB legacy - Draft Wire - Check out Draft Wire's exclusive interview with Penn State running back Miles Sanders

Hoge: 2019 Bears Mock Draft 2.0 - WGN Radio - At this point, it would be surprising if the Bears did not add a running back in the draft and they could even do it with their first pick if the right guy is still on the board. That’s the scenario we’ll start with in Bears Mock Draft 2.0.

2019 NFL draft: Post-combine safety rankings - Draft Wire - Check out Luke Easterling's updated safety rankings for the 2019 NFL draft

Chicago Bears post-free agency 7-round mock draft - Bears Wire - A complete 2019 NFL Mock Draft for the Chicago Bears, post-free agency edition.

POLISH SAUSAGE

‘Very Cavallari’ recap: A rare appearance by Jay Cutler’s A-game - Chicago Sun-Times - Enlisted to whip Uncommon James into shape on Episode 3 of Season 2, Jay Cutler delivers, while others liberally misuse the word “literally.”

KNOW THY ENEMY

Packers have less than $5 million in salary cap space after errors identified, per report - Acme Packing Company - Apparently the Green Bay Packers are a lot closer to the salary cap than initially believed.

Vikings Free Agency: Minnesota re-signs RB Ameer Abdullah - Daily Norseman - He has a chance to pick up a bigger role in the backfield

Former Lions DE Kerry Hyder signs with Cowboys - Pride Of Detroit - The former Lions underdog will continue his NFL career in Dallas.

Packers meet with free-agent safety Curtis Riley, but no contract expected, per reports - Acme Packing Company - The Packers met with the free-agent safety Monday.

Rashaan Melvin visiting Lions this week – ProFootballTalk - Free agent cornerback Rashaan Melvin is visiting the Lions on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports. Melvin, 29, spent last season in Oakland after signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal.

2019 NFL free agency's best contracts: Callahan, Hicks in best list - NFL.com - In the wake of free agency's opening frenzy, what are the best contracts from a team perspective? Gregg Rosenthal spotlights blockbuster deals for Le'Veon Bell and Earl Thomas, as well as some under-the-radar signings.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: What is the Bears’ top need? - Windy City Gridiron - After a week of free agency, what is the Bears’ most pressing need right now?

Householder: New York Jets sign Chicago Bears tight end Daniel Brown - Windy City Gridiron - The tight end joins his former OC Dowell Loggains in New York

Leming: Grading the first week of the Chicago Bears 2019 free agency - Windy City Gridiron - The first week of free agency is in the books. How did general manager Ryan Pace do? Click here to find out.

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 - iTunes - Robert Zeglinski - The Blitz Network

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