Bears Blitz

Published by Matt Eurich on March 10, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Beginning this past Saturday, March 8, at noon ET, NFL teams were able to begin negotiations with agents of unrestricted free agents prior to the official start of free agency on Tuesday, March 11, at 4 p.m. ET.

The negotiation window gives teams the opportunity to talk numbers with agents before the official start of free agency, but it prohibits teams from talking directly to the free agent. No deals can officially be signed prior to 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon. 

Hadley Englehard, the agent for free-agent cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, told USA TODAY Sports’ Jim Corbett that the benefit of the negotiation window is, “You find out what teams are really in play during that three-day window.”

Unquestionably, the Chicago Bears front office has been hard at work since the negotiation window opened on Saturday, with Phil Emery and his staff devising a plan to improve their roster for 2014.

The team has been busy this offseason inking new deals with Jay Cutler, Tim Jennings, Matt Slauson, Roberto Garza, Derrick Martin, Kelvin Hayden and Jeremiah Ratliff (h/t ChicagoBears.com). 

Despite the re-signing of the players listed above, the team still has various holes to fill, particularly on the defensive side of the football.

Emery likely has a list of targets that he wants to go after in free agency, but those plans do not always hold up and he will need a contingency plan when some of the big names go to other teams. 

With that said, here is the Chicago Bears’ free-agency fallback plan. 

 

Defensive Tackle

After losing Henry Melton and Nate Collins to ACL injuries in 2013, the Bears defense struggled mightily against both the run and the pass. The team was forced to bring guys off of the street and saw the likes of Landon Cohen, Zach Minter and Christian Tupou get significant playing time. The team benefited from the late-season signing of Jeremiah Ratliff, and he did enough in his short five-game span to net him a two-year deal to stay in Chicago. 

Big-Name Targets: If he had been healthy, Henry Melton would undoubtedly be at the top of the team’s wishlist, but there is uncertainty on how he will perform coming off of his ACL injury. During a teleconference last week, former Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian said of Melton:

Henry Melton, I think, is a terrific three-technique, albeit undersized, but in the Tampa-2 system you can play with those guys. I don’t know whether Marc (Trestman) and Phil (Emery) and others in the Bears organization think that he fits for them. And it’s always, always, always colored by the injury.

Despite his injury, Melton showed solid production in both 2012 and 2013 and he may be able to find more money somewhere else.

Another big-name target could be the Giants’ Linval Joseph. He is one of the best young run-stoppers in the game and would immediately help improve the team’s porous run defense at the nose tackle position. Along with his penetration against the run, he’s got the ability to get pressure on the quarterback and has nine career sacks. 

Fallback Plan: A former seventh-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010, Seattle’s Clinton McDonald is one of the lesser-known defensive linemen from the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks. After a couple of mediocre seasons in Seattle, McDonald busted out in 2013, recording the first 5.5 sacks of his career and playing a prominent role in the team’s defensive line rotation.

He showed explosiveness off of the football and that he has the ability to add a much-needed pass rush from the inside for the Bears. He only started one game in 2013, partly due to the depth along Seattle’s defensive line, but he will likely come as a cheaper option due to his lack of production in previous seasons.

Late Sunday night the Bears announced the re-signing of Nate Collins to a one-year deal according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago:

Collins showed the flexibility to play both the 3-technique defensive tackle as well as nose tackle in the team’s 4-3 front and has enough explosion to cause disruptions in the backfield. 

If the Bears fail to hit on bringing in one of the big-name defensive tackle targets, McDonald may prove to be a viable, cheaper option in 2014.

 

Defensive End

While the defensive tackle position was struggling with injuries in 2013, the defensive end position struggled with consistency. After all of the various injuries at defensive tackle, Corey Wootton was moved from defensive end to the 3-technique defensive tackle, leaving guys like Shea McClellin, David Bass and Cheta Ozougwu to find production at left defensive end.

On the opposite side of the line, the once-dominant Julius Peppers looked like a shell of his former self. He still finished with a team-high seven sacks but was virtually nonexistent during stretches of the season. The big question will be whether the team elects to cut him, saving the team $9.8 million in cap space or nearly $14 million if the Bears spread out the dead money over two seasons, according to the Chicago Tribune‘s Brad Biggs.

By cutting Peppers, it will help open up more cap room that can be spent on his possible replacements.

Big-Name Targets: The Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins took two of the biggest pass-rushers off of the market by using the franchise tag on Greg Hardy and Brian Orakpo. 

By taking those two off of the market, the three biggest names set to cash in on big deals this offseason are Seattle’s Michael Bennett, Cincinnati’s Michael Johnson and Oakland’s Lamarr Houston.

Bennett seemed like the most logical choice, as the Chicago Tribune‘s Brad Biggs tweeted over the weekend that Bennett was high on the Bears’ wishlist.

Despite the team’s efforts to sign him in Chicago, the Seattle Seahawks tweeted out Monday afternoon that they had re-signed him to a multi-year deal.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, Bennett will make $28.5 million over four years. He gets $10 million in 2014, $16 million through the first two years, and $21 million over three.

After being franchise tagged heading into 2013, Michael Johnson had just 3.5 sacks after taking down the quarterback 11.5 times in 2012. He still finished with 41 quarterback hurries and was solid against the run, something that the Bears defensive ends struggled with in 2013. At just 27 years old, he is entering his prime and may find potential suitors that can afford to offer him more money than the Bears. (UPDATE: According to ESPN.com, Johnson has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Oakland’s Lamarr Houston has seemingly flown under-the-radar of some fans around the league, but at 26 years old, he shows the ability to play both inside and outside and has been extremely durable, not missing a game in the past four years. Much like Johnson, his youth and prior production may push him out of the Bears’ price range.

Fallback Plan: Wootton could very well still be in play for the Bears, but the team is willing to let him test free agency as they still want to see how far along he has come since his hip surgery in January (h/t Chicago Tribune). 

If they look to move on from Wootton and fail to reach an agreement with one of the bigger-name free agents, there are still plenty of viable options on the market.

A former first-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2009, Robert Ayers has failed to make the major impact that is expected of a first-round pick. Despite not putting up flashy statistics, he’s been a solid contributor during his time in Denver and racked up 5.5 sacks in 2013. 

In 2013, former seventh-round pick Willie Young saw his first significant playing time for the Detroit Lions, starting 15 games and playing 730 snaps. He finished with three sacks and five pass deflections. 

He shows good quickness off the edge and his length helps him attack quicker offensive linemen but he struggles at times against the run. Signing Young would help give the team an effective third-down rusher and could help weaken the NFC North-rival Detroit Lions in the process. 

 

Cornerback

After making two straight Pro Bowls, Charles Tillman looked well on his way to making his third in a row in 2013 before an injury ended his season. The Bears made do with Zackary Bowman replacing Tillman opposite of Pro Bowler Tim Jennings. Jennings was signed to a long-term deal just after the end of the season, and the team brought back veteran Kelvin Hayden, who missed all of 2013 with a torn hamstring. The team currently sits with just Jennings, Hayden and Isaiah Frey as the only cornerbacks on the roster with NFL experience.

Big Name Targets: Tillman appears to be the most logical choice to fill the void opposite of Jennings in 2014, but his future has yet to be determined. Tillman recently told Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times, “I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be, whether it’s Chicago or whatever team. If I hit the market, I hit the market. If I don’t, then I’m here.”

If the team opts to go the “big name” route, Tennessee‘s Alterraun Verner and New England‘s Aqib Talib could be targets, but considering the four-year, $39 million contract just signed by Green Bay‘s Sam Shields (h/t CBSSports.com), the top-tier cornerbacks are all likely out of the Bears price range.

Fallback Plan: From a familiarity standpoint, Zackary Bowman makes sense to return in 2014 after a solid 2013 campaign filling in for Tillman, and there is not likely to be a big market for him.

Veteran Captain Munnerlyn, who was on the Bears’ radar last offseason (h/t ESPNChicago.com), had one of his best seasons last year for the Carolina Panthers. At 5’8″, he is best suited as a nickelback, but with the team re-signing Hayden, he may no longer interest the Bears in 2014.

A pair of former Seattle Seahawks cornerbacks, Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond III, may be available as cheaper options but will come with higher risks. 

After violating the league’s substance abuse policy, Browner was suspended last season after playing the first eight games of the season. He is a former Pro Bowler, but there is speculation that, despite his indefinite suspension being lifted last week, he may face a four-game suspension to start the season.

Thurmond was in a similar (albeit less severe) situation as Browner after being suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy in 2013.

While serving his suspension, he lost his starting cornerback job (that he had taken from Browner) to Byron Maxwell. Despite losing his spot, he excelled at nickelback when he returned and has the potential to be an impactful starting cornerback.

According to ESPN Seahawks reporter Terry Blount, via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com:

Thurmond is an outstanding cover corner. When Brandon Browner was hurt with a hamstring injury, Thurmond came in and played as well or better than Browner was playing. But he isn’t the physical corner Browner is. 

The prior histories of Browner and Thurmond III could force them into accepting one-year, “prove it” deals, and if 2013 is any indication, Phil Emery is more than willing to sign guys to those types of deals. 

 

Safety

In a year in which the Chicago Bears defensive line received staunch criticism for its inability to create pressure and stop the run, their safety play was some of the worst in the league.

There were high hopes that Chris Conte and Major Wright could take the next step after a solid 2012 campaign but both regressed in 2013.

Wright, who has yet to be re-signed for 2014, likely will not return, and Conte will be facing an uphill battle to reclaim his role as the team’s starting free safety.

Big Name Targets: Two names are squarely at the top of teams’ wishlists around the NFL in terms of the safety position: Cleveland‘s T.J. Ward and Buffalo‘s Jairus Byrd.

One of the most physical and hard-hitting safeties in the game, Ward is terrific against the run but still has some questions in coverage. Despite the concerns in the passing game, he’d be a big improvement over Wright at strong safety.

While Ward is best known for his hard-hitting play, Byrd combines hard-hitting ability with the skills of a playmaking safety. He possesses great range and has a terrific nose for the football, amassing 22 interceptions in 73 career games.

Ward and Byrd sit at or near the top of a lot of free agent “big boards” and could force themselves out of the Bears’ price range considering all of their needs defensively.

Fallback Plan: While the top of the safety class is loaded with Ward and Byrd, there are plenty of above-average safeties that should be available at a cheaper price.

The Chicago Tribune‘s Brad Biggs tweeted out over the weekend about the Bears interest in a pair of “middle of the road” safeties:

According to Biggs in the Chicago Tribune, the Bears were interested in drafting Mitchell before he was selected by the the Raiders in the second round in 2009. He had four interceptions, 3.5 sacks (both career highs) and 66 tackles for the Panthers last season. 

Mundy spent his first four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the New York Giants last season and making nine starts. He is a physical presence against the run but struggled at times in the pass game. He lost his job to Will Hill after suffering a hip injury but excelled on special teams. 

If the team looks to pair a rookie they draft with a veteran, Indianapolis’ Antoine Bethea could be a fit at a reasonable price. He is an extremely durable player (96 straight starts) and is one of the league’s best inside-the-box tacklers. He is above average in pass coverage and with him turning 30 in July, his age may factor in him coming in as a cheaper option. 

Lastly, Miami‘s Chris Clemons may not be at the same level as Ward and Byrd but is likely the next best option. He has the versatility to play both free and strong safety, is strong in the box against the run and has been steady throughout his tenure in the league. 

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