Biggest Challenges Facing Chicago Bears in 2017 Offseason
The Chicago Bears might face a more diverse set of challenges than any NFL team this offseason—and jobs are likely at stake.
General manager Ryan Pace has the Bears in a mini rebuild of sorts. Years of roster turnover bleed into another here this offseason, where the front office has to decide what to do with oodles of cap space, departing players, cutable players and noteworthy standing in free agency and the draft.
The task is narrower for most other teams. On one end of the spectrum, the New England Patriots simply have to reload a few key areas after winning the Super Bowl. On the other, the Cleveland Browns need the best talent available at pretty much any spot while retaining their quality players.
It's more complex for the Bears. But if done right, a roster much better on paper than it performed last year can pair with smart moves by those in charge to tip the Bears toward New England's side of the scale as opposed to the Cleveland side.
Call this offseason a tightrope in which the response to varied challenges decides whether the Bears make it across the gap or plunge back into the darkness. Here is a look at the biggest issues confronting the Bears.
Revamping the Secondary
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The Bears aren't going anywhere with the secondary as it stands.
Last year, 30-year-old Tracy Porter was arguably the team's best defensive back while battling injuries and falling off over the campaign's second half—he finished as the No. 118 corner in the league at Pro Football Focus on a chart grading 120 players.
Young guys such as Deiondre' Hall and Cre'von LeBlanc might have bright futures, but the unit is the main reason the defense gave up 24.9 points per game last year.
How the Bears attack the biggest area of need this offseason decides everything. The front office can go out and splurge on possible free agents such as Eric Berry and Stephon Gilmore, among others, mentioned here in a free-agency guide. Having about $58 million in cap space, per Spotrac, helps with that.
The Bears can use high draft slots to address the issues as well. Guys like Malik Hooker, Jamal Adams and Marshon Lattimore will all be available at the top of the draft. Picking third does that.
The secondary fix will come via a mixture of the two. Four new starters and a sampling of upside guys like LeBlanc isn't out of the question.
What to Do with Potential Cuts
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Roster turnover is a staple of a rebuild, something the Bears have learned the hard way over the past couple of years while letting familiar faces such as Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte—among many others—walk.
This offseason the biggest name here is Jay Cutler. The relationship between the team and embattled quarterback seems at an end, even if Cutler is still arguably the best quarterback on the roster at the moment.
Booting Cutler to the door via cut or trade, along with his $16 million cap hit in 2017, makes sense.
But Cutler isn't the only tough decision. The Bears can also save cash on Lamarr Houston (nearly $7 million cap hit) and wideout Eddie Royal ($5 million), two guys who have had problems staying healthy. Don't forget Porter (a little over $4 million) as a potential cut, too.
And those are just the players the Bears could cut for financial savings.
Think about someone such as Kyle Fuller. The No. 14 pick in the 2014 NFL draft continues to sit in purgatory instead of living up to his draft billing after missing all of 2016, with the coaching staff at times sounding irritated with his commitment to a comeback.
The Bears have done a quality job of overturning the roster thus far, so any decision made in this area is something fans should back.
How to Handle Injuries
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Challenges featuring Porter and Fuller bring up another major talking point of the offseason for Chicago—injuries.
The Bears finished last season with some of the most cap space in the league on injured reserve. Cutler was there, and his hobbled past is one of the big reasons the team might go a different direction next year. Same for Houston, Fuller and even Royal, who all finished on injured reserve.
But look at some of the other names. Guys consistently unable to stay healthy eventually require a team to spend extra assets reinforcing a position.
Think about wideout Kevin White. He had plenty of hype as the seventh overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, but he's made just four appearances since. Tight end Zach Miller has seven missed games over two years with the team.
On the defensive side of things tackle Eddie Goldman missed one game in 2015 before 10 in 2016. At inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman missed four games due to suspension. Big-money acquisition Pernell McPhee missed two games in 2015 and seven in 2016.
Perhaps most important of all, inside linebacker Danny Trevathan went down with a devastating knee injury at the end of November and could start next season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
This leaves the Bears in a tough spot. So many injuries so consistently means investing in wideout, tight end and perhaps even rock-solid places such as inside linebacker for insurance purposes instead of upgrading elsewhere.
The Bears have plenty of cap space, but needing to insulate positions because of seemingly endless injuries bleeds the number in a hurry.
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Alshon Jeffery
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It's almost funny to think re-signing one of the league's best receivers is a tough task for the Bears this offseason.
Yet here we are.
Jeffery, 27, is about to cash in on a major deal. He played through one year of the franchise tag and had a miserable outing, totaling 821 yards and two touchdowns. He was also hit with a four-game ban for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Questions about his effort and these other issues, though, are details teams on the market will be willing to overlook for a shot at a player of Jeffery's caliber.
Will the Bears?
Conventional wisdom says yes. Jeffery might be the best player on the roster, and the Bears aren't in a position to let such a talent walk. The cap space to make it happen with ease is certainly there, especially after the franchise saved some money on him last year thanks to the suspension.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jeffery (ranked No. 39) still shined in advanced areas. He played just 693 snaps, yet graded out as one of the best run-blocking receivers in the league and only dropped five passes. Seven interceptions were on passes targeting him, but one look at who lined up under center for the Bears last year says it all.
Bringing back Jeffery, either on a tag or a long-term deal, locks down one of the most important spots on the field and gives the Bears flexibility with the rest of the depth chart, freeing things up for White, Cam Meredith and any other players the front office wants to sign. He provides a reliable presence for a rookie or veteran and keeps running lanes open.
Jeffery is a challenge for obvious reasons. The Bears are in a position to take a risk on him, though, so it seems likely Pace and the front office will.
The No. 3 Pick
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Blowing a top-three pick has alarming consequences in the NFL—as it should.
Look at the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 NFL draft, where the team rolled the dice on UCF quarterback Blake Bortles. Or the third spot in 2013, where the Miami Dolphins selected Dion Jordan.
Hits don't happen often at No. 3, though they have recently such as when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took elite defensive tackle Gerald McCoy at the slot in 2010.
No pressure on Pace and the Bears, right?
The Bears could decide a defensive back is the best route, with mentioned guys such as Adams looking like solid options. But help in the defensive trenches couldn't hurt, either, if the Bears aren't sold on Akiem Hicks' breakout season or the upside of Jonathan Bullard, making Alabama's Jonathan Allen a strong choice.
Then there is quarterback, where Pace could gamble on a guy he likes making it to the second round. Or maybe the team goes ahead and pulls the trigger on Mitch Trubisky from North Carolina. The upside of Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer is hard to ignore, but so is the title-winning experience of Clemson's Deshaun Watson.
A dark-horse scenario is a trade. But with the soft hype of this quarterback class, and it being harder than ever to get proper value for a top-five pick, it seems unlikely the Bears would move down. More assets to rebuild the roster and still getting a guy they like in the first round couldn't hurt—but the value for moving down has to be there.
In a way, the wealth of options at No. 3 is the personification of the challenges facing the Bears overall. Like the rest of the hurdles, the pick at No. 3 will need hindsight to decide if the Bears made the right move in the face of immense pressure.
Quarterback
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Pace himself has said "everything is on the table" when it comes to quarterback.
One can presume, though, this doesn't include Cutler, his big cap hit and lack of a full 16-game season since 2009.
But what else?
Maybe the Bears stay in house and decide to show faith in Matt Barkley. He's young at 26 years old and showed some poise as a part-time starter last year, throwing eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions. But keep in mind, per Pro Football Focus, he suffered from 20 dropped passes.
Or maybe the Bears throw weight behind Brian Hoyer. He's 31, but a nice stopgap solution if the team wants to groom a younger player. He threw six touchdowns and no interceptions before an arm injury sent him to injured reserve.
The mentioned draft options at No. 3 abound. Watson seems like the sort of rookie Pace would like as a Day 1 starter who can help push along a roster thinking itself ready to pass the .500 mark. Kizer, though raw and had a miserable team around him at Notre Dame, has the intangibles the team wouldn't mind grooming on the bench for a year.
Don't forget free agency, though. It's hard to know what happens with Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo. Or maybe Washington doesn't retain Kirk Cousins. Long shots, and the latter makes more sense than the former, but they are just a couple of examples.
As any team with one of the league's handful of elite passers will confirm, little else matters if the decision at the most important position of all isn't right.
At the very least, the Bears have one thing going for them compared to most—they have the flexibility and options to make almost any move they desire a reality.
All contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless otherwise specified. Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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