The Bear’s Den, April 28, 2020

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

No themes. No BS. Just the Stones.

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

BEARRRSSSS

Bears On Tap Podcast: Episode 53 - Draft Wrap Up - The 2020 NFL Draft is officially in the books and the Bears On Tap crew is here recap all the action. Lucas Perfetti is joined by Brandon Suarez to analyze its implications for the Bears and the rest of the NFC North.

The 2020 Bears spotlight is on ... Juan Castillo? - Chicago Sun-Times - No doubt, Castillo’s role will be crucial. Even with the addition of Nick Foles, Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet, the Bears’ most important upgrade is arguably an offensive line that returns virtually intact from 2019.

Evaluating the Chicago Bears’ 2020 draft class - Chicago Tribune - Now that the Bears’ 2020 draft class is complete, there is plenty for Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs to discuss on the Bear Download podcast. Beyond that, how will the Bears offense improve with the new personnel — regardless of who the quarterback is?

Column: Chicago Bears should decline Mitch Trubisky’s 5th-year option - Chicago Tribune - Mitch Trubisky’s fifth-year option wouldn’t be fully guaranteed if the Bears choose to exercise it before the May 4 deadline. But at $24.8 million, would that make any sense?

NFL draft ratings: 8.4 million average viewers for 3 days - Chicago Tribune - The NFL draft averaged a record 8.4 million viewers over all three days, according to the NFL and Nielsen. The previous high was 6.2 million last year.

VanZuiden: Grading Every Chicago Bears Draft Pick - ChicagoBears.com - With the NFL Draft officially behind us, Jake VanZuiden broke out the red pen and graded each of the Chicago Bears’ selections.

8 free agents still available who make sense for Bears to sign - NBC Sports Chicago - Slideshow Alert: The Bears have a decent amount of cap space left over and crossed an important point in the offseason Monday afternoon, opening up the possibility for adding a few veteran free agents in the coming weeks.

NFL Draft 2021: Way too early first-round mock draft results - NBC Sports Chicago - Slideshow Alert: True, the NFL 2020 draft just ended and not one down of pro football has been played for the upcoming season. Yes, the college season hasn’t commenced either and underclassmen haven’t declared for the next draft. Also true, no coaches or general managers have been fired or hired. So what?

Here’s a video from buddy/friend/pal Chris Duerr at KHQA TV in Quincy, IL (where I worked for 9 years) about new Bears UDFA LaCale London out of Western Illinois in Macomb (part of the KHQA coverage area).

Projecting Bears’ 53-man roster after NFL Draft, free agency - NBC Sports Chicago - The Bears are all but done with the heavy lifting in building their 2020 roster, so who will make the cut for Week 1 this fall? Ken's Note: 55 man roster, not 53 guys.

5 things to know about Bears’ Arlington Hambright, Lachavious Simmons - Bears Wire - Both Arlington Hambright and Lachavious Simmons are still fairly unknown but show potential to contribute at the NFL level.

Way-too-early 2021 NFL mock draft: Bears target OL in 1st round - Bears Wire - The paint isn't even dry on the Bears' 2020 draft class, but we officially have our first 2021 NFL mock draft.

Chicago Bears waive TE Dax Raymond - Bears Wire - The Bears trimmed their tight end group from 10 to 9 players with the release of undrafted free agent Dax Raymond on Monday.

Projections Lead to Uncertainty over Bears Draft Picks - SI.com - An undertone of uncertainty dogs the 2020 Chicago Bears draft class.

Bears' Options After Failing to Find a Safety in Draft - SI.com - The bad news from the Bears draft was the lack of a safety to compete with the group including Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Kentrell Brice and Jordan Lucas for the starting spot alongside Eddie Jackson.

Bears Make Dax Raymond First of Expected Tight End Cuts - SI.com - An expected whittling down of the tight end group by the Bears began Monday when they announced they had waived Dax Raymond.

Chalk Talk: Who was Bears' last local pick? - Chalk Talk - Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses the last Chicago-area native drafted by the Bears, if the Bears considered drafting a quarterback and the most picks the Bears have ever made in one round of the draft.

Reviewing every pick involved in Mack trade - ChciagoBears.com - With the 2020 draft closing the book on the 2018 Khalil Mack trade, we break down the six players who were drafted with the picks exchanged between the Bears and Raiders in the blockbuster deal.

Chicago Bears waive tight end Dax Raymond - ChciagoBears.com - The Bears on Monday waived first-year tight end Dax Raymond. The Utah State product signed with the team last year as an undrafted free agent and spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad.

Report: The NFL Has Prepared Contingency Plans to Preserve a Full Regular Season Calendar in 2020 - Bleacher Nation - Although you’d almost certainly not sense as much optimism from the players, owners, and teams, the NFL is undoubtedly in a better position post-COVID-19 than

Meet (Another) Bears Fifth-Round Pick: Cornerback Kindle Vildor - Bleacher Nation - Kindle Vildor did some of his best work against Clemson standout Tee Higgins. That’s impressive.

It’s Never Too Early to Think About the Next Bears Draft, Right? - Bleacher Nation - Justin Fields is one of many high-end quarterback prospects who figure to be available in next year’s draft.

The Great Tight End Reduction Begins: Bears Waive Dax Raymond - Bleacher Nation - Dax Raymond, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019, is gone.

5@5: How Do You Rate Bears’ Draft Class? - 670 The Score - The Mully & Haugh crew debates a five-pack of questions every weekday.

Johnson: Shoulder Will Be ‘100 Percent When Need Be’ - 670 The Score - The Bears landed Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson with the No. 50 overall pick in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday evening thanks in part to an unexpected drop related to his injury history. Johnson had right shoulder surgery in March to repair a torn labrum that he played through last year...

POLISH SAUSAGE

Jay Cutler divorce: Kristin Cavallari alleges ‘inappropriate conduct’ by former Bear - Chicago Sun-Times - The reality TV star does not specify the behavior that made it ‘unsafe and improper’ to live with the former Bears QB.

Will teams wait to sign draft picks? - ProFootballTalk - Since the 2011 labor deal removed most of the items about which teams and draft picks can haggle, most teams have quickly signed most if not all of their incoming rookies. This year may not be like other recent years.

Browns exercise 2021 options on Myles Garrett, David Njoku - ProFootballTalk - With the draft out of the way, teams can move on to making decisions about exercising the fifth-year options on their 2017 first-round picks.

NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys get major boost from 2020 Draft - NFL.com - With all 255 picks in the books, how did the 2020 NFL Draft affect the league hierarchy? Dan Hanzus updates his Power Rankings, with movement up and down the board. Whose prospect haul provides the biggest boost?

NFC East teams assigned international players for 2020 - NFL.com - The NFL announced Monday that each NFC East team will carry an additional player on their practice squads in 2020 as part of the International Player Pathway program.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Packers thought another team was trying to trade up for Jordan Love, per report - Acme Packing Company - Peter King says Brian Gutekunst was worried about another team jumping ahead of the Packers to select Jordan Love.

Brian Gutekunst’s view of the 2020 WR group sheds light on why Packers came up empty - Acme Packing Company - Green Bay’s top personnel man explained that after the big early runs at receiver, the team just didn’t see the rest of the class as being as good as others did.

2020 NFL Draft: Cowboys, Chargers cleaned up, Packers failed - NFL.com - Which franchises cleaned up in the 2020 NFL Draft? Which front offices completely dropped the ball? Adam Schein spotlights the best and worst team hauls in his annual love/loathe draft recap.

Detroit Lions haven’t made decision on Jarrad Davis’ 5th-year option as deadline looms - Pride Of Detroit - The Lions only have a week to make up their minds.

Packers release Manny Wilkins, opening up a roster spot for a potential addition - Acme Packing Company - Green Bay’s roster now effectively sits at 89 spots filled out of 90.

Did Rick Spielman wheel and deal like he’ll be the Vikings GM in 2021? - Daily Norseman - Some of the moves the Vikings GM made seem to indicate he’s going to be here in 2021. Let’s take a look.

Pandemic and Pandemonium: four takes on the Packers’ wacky 2020 draft - Acme Packing Company - Green Bay’s draft route didn’t follow conventional thought, but it revealed the Packers’ eye toward the future.

The end is near: Packers fans’ core fear with Jordan Love pick has nothing to do with him - Acme Packing Company - Not finding more exciting skill position players later in the draft makes it tougher to swallow, but fears and anger over Jordan Love are all about what it means for Aaron Rodgers and how much longer he has to dazzle us.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Berckes: Dress to Impress - How to pick your next Bears jersey - Windy City Gridiron - Unsure of what jersey you should get? We’ve got you covered as we kick off "Jersey Week" on Windy City Gridiron

Mel Kiper gives Bears C+ grade for 2020 draft class - Windy City Gridiron - ESPN’s resident draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. has finally revealed his draft grades for the 2020 draft classes, and he’s giving the Chicago Bears a C+, which ranks 23rd overall on his grades list.

Wiltfong: Bears release tight end Dax Raymond - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears make a move at tight end...

Wiltfong: Stop complaining about drafting Cole Kmet at 43 - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears picked Cole Kmet with the 43rd overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft and some fans are freaking out...

THE RULES

Windy City Gridiron Community Guidelines - SBNation.com - We strive to make our communities open and inclusive to sports fans of all backgrounds. The following is not permitted in comments. No personal attacks, politics, gender based insults of any kind, racial insults, etc.

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

Windy City Gridiron Podcast Channel which includes Bear With Me from Robert Schmitz, Bears Over Beers featuring Jeff Berckes & EJ Snyder, Bears Banter hosted by Bill Zimmerman, and T Formation Conversation from Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.; Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert; and Robert Zeglinski’s The Blitz Network

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Aaron Lemming; Ken Mitchell; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Whiskey Ranger; Robert Schmitz; Robert Zeglinski; Bill Zimmerman; Like us on Facebook.