Bears to sign former Raiders LB Nicholas Morrow

The Bears will be signing former Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Tuesday. The financial terms have yet to be disclosed as of this writing.

The Raiders signed the 26-year-old Morrow to a one-year, $4.5 million contract last offseason, but he suffered an ankle injury before the season that caused him to miss to the season. Prior to his injury, he had played in 62 games and started in 29 during his four seasons in the NFL.

Morrow has 254 tackles to his name, as well as 20 tackles for a loss and 20 pass deflections. A collegiate safety who converted to linebacker, the Greenville alumnus ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at his Pro Day and brings impressive speed and mobility to the linebacker position. PFF’s Brad Spielberger noted that Morrow can play both as a MIKE and SAM linebacker, which is important, considering Roquan Smith is projected to serve as the Bears’ WILL linebacker.

With the Bears expected to release Danny Trevathan, the only other linebackers on their roster are Smith, Caleb Johnson and Joe Thomas. As the team transitions into running a base 4-3, bringing in Morrow gives them a young and athletic defender with experience lined up in a base 4-3 system.