Antrel Rolle Provides an Upgrade but Hardly an Answer for Bears’ Secondary
Published by Zach Kruse on March 12, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears‘ signing of veteran safety Antrel Rolle figures to provide an affordable upgrade at the team’s most obvious position of need and a respected leader in new head coach John Fox’s locker room.
What the signing doesn’t provide is a legitimate answer beyond 2015 for the Bears’ secondary, given that Rolle turns 33 years old in December and is coming off a season in which he suffered through another slip in performance.
According to ProFootballTalk, Rolle and the Bears agreed to a three-year, $11.25 million deal on Wednesday night. The contract includes $5 million guaranteed:
There is certainly no faulting the Bears financially. The deal is structured to pay Rolle $5 million in the first year, including a $3.9 million roster bonus. But after 2015, the Bears owe Rolle no guaranteed money and can cut him without a cap penalty.
Essentially, the deal is for one year and $5 million, with two one-year team options worth a little over $3 million each in 2016 and 2017.
The table below shows how the contract is structured, via Spotrac:
Given how dry the safety market is in both free agency and the 2015 draft, the Bears did well to sign a veteran leader at a bargain price.
Rolle should also be an immediate upgrade for a roster starved for talent at the position. The Bears have suffered through a two-year spell of embarrassing safety play, which has factored heavily into the defense allowing more points than any team in football since 2013.
Former starters Major Wright and Chris Conte are gone, leaving only veteran Ryan Mundy and a host of young players—including Brock Vereen, last year’s fourth-round pick—in Chicago.
If Rolle resembles anything close to an average starting safety in 2015, he’ll improve Chicago’s defense. And probably by a significant margin.
The Bears will also appreciate his durability and leadership qualities.
A 10-year NFL veteran, Rolle has missed just one game since his rookie season. He signed a five-year deal with the New York Giants in 2010 and has played in all 80 games since, plus four playoff games during New York’s Super Bowl run in 2011.
Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara called Rolle the team’s “anchor,” according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.
Head coach Tom Coughlin was equally complimentary of Rolle during the NFL Scouting Combine last month.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been involved with a player who was more sincerely interested in how his team could improve,” Coughlin said, via Graziano. “And I admire that very much in him as a young man and as a leader.”
In Rolle, it’s clear the Bears are paying a cheap price to get an experienced and respected player at the club’s biggest area of need.
Far less clear is how effective Rolle will be in 2015, with another year of wear and tear on his 32-year-old body. He will turn 33 in December, and there’s little doubting that he’s arriving in Chicago following one of his worst seasons.
As the saying goes, Father Time is undefeated.
According to Pro Football Focus, Rolle played 1,071 total snaps in 2014. Out of 87 qualified safeties, Rolle finished 81st overall. He was graded harshly in run defense, finishing with the third-worst mark at the position. He also committed eight penalties (one offsetting), which was third-highest among safeties.
He did intercept three passes, but it’s worth noting Conte intercepted the same number last season. Mundy finished 2014 with four. Rolle’s interceptions came at the expense of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles.
Rolle made the Pro Bowl after intercepting six passes in 2013, so there’s a chance last season was just a blip on the radar.
But when an older player in a young man’s game starts slipping, there’s usually no slowing the regression. Another dip from Rolle in 2015, and he becomes a replacement-level player.
Then again, there’s little risk for the Bears. Rolle can be released after one season if things go south. Paying $5 million for the chance to find out if there’s more 2013 and less 2014 in his game is well worth the investment.
However, let’s also not lose sight of what this signing really is: a stopgap acquisition.
The Bears clearly aren’t smitten with the incoming draft class at safety, and free agency offered little once Devin McCourty re-signed in New England. Adding Rolle gives the Bears a veteran presence as Vereen develops, while also granting Chicago time to find the team’s next answer at the position.
Rolle brings many positive things to the table for Chicago. An answer beyond 2015 just isn’t one of them.
Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report.
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