Chicago Bears 2015 Offseason Preview
Much of the disappointment that currently surrounds the Chicago Bears right now is due to the high expectations that were set when the team made a few big splashes in free agency.
Two seasons ago, the Bears offense needed to be upgraded. So what did general manager Phil Emery do? He upgraded the offense by signing left tackle Jermon Bushrod and tight end Martellus Bennett, both of whom now play big roles in the Bears offense.
Last season, when the defense ranked near the bottom of the league, what did Emery do? He went out and signed defensive ends Lamarr Houston, Jared Allen and Willie Young, with the hope of improving the pass rush. All three players have fared very differently this season, with Young and his team-leading seven sacks leading the way. We all know the bit of irony Houston found himself in the last time the Bears took the field.
All of these signings, along with a handful of draft picks, put the Bears in position to take the next step on the path to a Super Bowl appearance. That step clearly hasn’t happened, as the team now sits at 3-5—stuck in the basement of the NFC North—through the halfway point of the season.
With a tough road matchup against Green Bay on Sunday night, the Bears are in make-or-break mode. The next few weeks will be instrumental when it comes to deciding how the 2015 roster will shake out.
So why don’t we take a look at a few players who could be staying, a few who could be going and even a few who might require new contracts.
The list will be broken down into the following categories:
1. No way, no chance, no how—this guy WILL NOT be re-signed!
2. A guy whose fortune will be impacted by performance in the second half
3. A guy who the Bears need to take a chance on
4. A guy the Bears would love to have back...at the right price
5. A guy the Bears would love to move on from...if they can get out of the contract
6. A guy who gonna get paid!
No Way, No Chance, No How—this Guy WILL NOT Be Re-Signed! ...
1 of 6
LB Lance Briggs
2014 salary: $4.75 million base, $6.5 million cap hit
2015 free agency status: Unrestricted
There is no chance Briggs is back next season with the Bears. Biggs is one of the final holdovers from the Lovie Smith-Brian Urlacher era in Chicago. Since their departures prior to the start of the 2013 season, Briggs has done everything but be a great football player.
After getting injured a month into the 2013 season, Briggs missed seven straight games, and when he returned to the team he looked overweight and out of shape. Fast-forward to the Monday before the 2014 season opener, when Briggs missed a practice under the guise of an “excused absence,” only to later learn that his reason for the absence included the opening of a new Northern California-based BBQ joint, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times' Patrick Finley.
In a time when the Bears are void of leaders, the most tenured Bear—tied with Charles Tillman—lacks an emotional allegiance to the team. He’s more interested in collecting his paycheck and counting down the days until he’s reunited with Lovie in Tampa or Rod Marinelli in Dallas.
Salary information can be found at Spotrac.com.
A Guy Whose Fortune Could Be Determined in the Next Eight Games
2 of 6
CB Charles Tillman
2014 salary: $2.25 base, $3.05 cap hit
2015 free agency status: Unrestricted
Tillman really wasn’t expected to return to Chicago after last season. The thought was he’d sign with Lovie in Tampa. Instead, the 12-year veteran returned to the only NFL team he’s been able to call home.
The same could happen this offseason. Tillman easily could have checked out and called it a year after he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2. He didn’t, though. He stays around the team, travels with the team, speaks for the team in the media.
Tillman stuck around because he clearly loves the organization and feels it’s his duty to be a part of the team, no matter how well or how poor things are going.
As the roster now stands, Kyle Fuller and Tim Jennings are the only corners who undoubtedly will be in the 2015 starting lineup. The Bears still will need to fill the nickel spot, as it’s been a revolving group of players this season. Jennings, Fuller, Demontre Hurst, Sherrick McManis, Al Louis-Jean, Brock Vereen and Isaiah Frey all have played snaps at nickel in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Remove Jennings and Fuller from that group and the Bears are left with a bunch of glorified special teamers.
Tillman told Robert Klemko of The MMQB that he plans on playing next season. When Klemko asked the cornerback how long he plans to plan, Tillman said:
“That’s a good question. Maybe two years? Max? That’d be awesome...if my body were able to hold up.”
Obviously this all depends on health. Tillman has a strong relationship to the organization and the city of Chicago. If he were to return, Fuller would remain in the starting lineup and the Bears would have the flexibility to move Jennings to the nickel corner.
Tillman still has value when he’s healthy. And he won’t cost an arm and a leg. The alternate option would be to use an early round draft pick on a cornerback or look to make a splash in free agency.
Salary information can be found at Spotrac.com.
A Guy Whom the Bears Need to Take a Chance on
3 of 6
C Brian De La Puente
2014 salary: $730,001 base, $795,001 cap hit
2015 free agency status: Unrestricted
The Bears have started two players at center in 2014: Roberto Garza and De La Puente, both of whom will be free agents after the season.
The better move would be to commit a few years to De La Puente and move on from Garza, who will be 36 years old by the time next season kicks off. De La Puente is six years younger and has 32 starts with Aaron Kromer as his offensive line coach/offensive coordinator under his belt. De La Puente and Kromer spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons together in New Orleans.
De La Puente has been great this season for the Bears, starting four games while Garza was out with an ankle sprain. Pro Football Focus rates De La Puente as the second-best center in the NFL, based on players who have played at least 25 percent of their team’s snaps at the position. Where does Garza rank on the list (with 91 fewer snaps)? Nineteenth.
De La Puente started all but four games in his last three seasons in New Orleans. You’d have to imagine he’d like to get back to starting full time. The Bears should offer him a two- to three-year deal and hope he takes it.
Salary information can be found at Spotrac.com.
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A Guy Whom the Bears Would Love to Have Back…at the Right Price
4 of 6
DT Stephen Paea
2014 salary: $827,623 base, $1,172,787 cap hit
2015 free agency status: Unrestricted
Paea has been one of the lone bright spots on the Bears defense in 2014, a contract year for the defensive tackle, too. The now-relatively healthy 2011 second-round draft pick is having his best season as a pro, recording four sacks and 17 tackles in eight games. Ankle and toe injuries have bugged Paea throughout his career. He took over the starting role in 2012, but has missed eight games since.
If Paea remains healthy in these next eight games, he will be a candidate to be brought back next season. The only thing that will stand in the way is the free-agent market. The Bears likely won’t break the bank for a player with a history of injury.
You also have to factor in the arrivals of Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson. The development of the two rookies over these next eight games definitely will impact how Paea is viewed once the season is over.
Salary information can be found at Spotrac.com.
A Guy Whom the Bears Move on From...If They Could Get out of the Contract
5 of 6
QB Jay Cutler
2014 salary: $17,500,000 base, $18,500,000 cap hit
2015 salary: $15,500,000 base, $16,500,000 cap hit
How does the saying go? “Your favorite, my favorite, everyone’s favorite...”? That’s how Cutler needs to be introduced here in this category. For the record, Cutler is listed here because his performance doesn’t match his salary. Listing him here is not saying that he’s a total failure.
But...
After signing the monster contract extension in the offseason, Cutler has responded by committing 12 turnovers in the first eight games of the season.
Brandon Marshall ranted after the loss to Miami, telling reporters the Bears are making the “same mistakes.” Turning the ball over falls under that umbrella.
Urlacher’s comments to 87.7 The Game FM sum up how Cutler should be viewed based on his performance:
"You look at the Bradys, the Mannings, the Rodgers, the Brees, those guys win every year, even with no one around them...Rodgers has no offensive line. He wins.[Tom] Brady has no receivers. He wins. And you look at Jay. He's got Brandon [Marshall], Alshon [Jeffery], Matt [Forte], this great offensive line, Martellus Bennett, and they can't seem to put it together, for some reason. I'm not sure if that's his fault, but for some reason, they just can't figure it out.
"
Now, looking at this realistically, the Bears will have Cutler under center at least through the 2015 season, when the release of the quarterback would count only $3 million in dead money against the cap.
In an article for CBS Sports, Jason La Canfora reported this interesting nugget over the weekend:
"The construction of the team has also come under criticism, particularly after signing embattled quarterback Jay Cutler to an $18 million-a-season extension after last season, and Cutler's ability to lead and galvanize a team has continued to come under question inside the Bears locker room.
"
Whether or not what La Canfora reported is true, Emery, despite saying publicly in a Q&A hosted on the team's official website that Cutler is a “winning quarterback,” somewhere deep down might be wishing he had slapped Cutler with the franchise tag.
The narrative that will surround Cutler for the 2015 season will be determined over these final eight games. It certainly will be a wild ride.
Salary information can be found at Spotrac.com.
A Guy Who Gonna Get Paid!
6 of 6
WR Alshon Jeffery
2014 salary: $753,438 base, $1,240,317 cap hit
2015 salary: $960,157 base, $1,447,036 cap hit
Re-signing Jeffery is a no-brainer. The University of South Carolina product has 151 receptions for 2,351 yards and 13 touchdowns in 34 games over two-plus seasons. Over that stretch, he’s second on the team in targets, behind Brandon Marshall.
That Marshall is on pace to finish with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since his rookie campaign (2006) suggests that the veteran wideout might have lost a step or two or three.
That fact alone is why the Bears need to be viewing Jeffery as the future. A Golden Tate-sized contract—somewhere in the range of five years, $31 million—could be a good starting point when negotiations kick off, if they haven’t already.
When it’s all said and done, Alshon is going to get paid the big-boy dollars.
Salary information can be found at Spotrac.com.
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