Chicago Bears Free Agency: Top 5 Players They Should Pursue

Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Pierre-Paul, DE

The New York Giants say they want Pierre-Paul back, and Pierre-Paul says he wants to be back, but the financial reality could make a return difficult.

Pierre-Paul says there will be no hometown discount given for him to stay in New York. The Giants could franchise him, but that would cost about $15 million, and then they would need to go through it again the next year.

The Bears’ combination of defensive ends, Jared Allen and Lamarr Houston, did not light it up last season. Allen dealt with pneumonia that sapped his strength (and perhaps age that did the same), and Houston tore his ACL celebrating his one and only sack of the season.

According to Overthecap.com, the amount of dead money on Houston is $3,960,000. That is the money that counts against the cap no matter if he’s on the team or not. If he is cut, the Bears save $3,030,000 from the salary cap.

Parting ways may be something in the Bears’ mindset, considering how bad his 2014 was, and how he even criticized the fans during the season. I don’t think new coach John Fox will stand for any foolishness, so that may be something to look at.

If they do, they should take a look at Pierre-Paul. He had 12.5 sacks this past season. He also had 53 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and 6 passes defended.

When he takes the field in 2015, Pierre-Paul will be just 26, so he is in the prime of his career. The 6-foot-5, 270 pounder is a big man with freakish athleticism. He dealt with injuries the last two seasons that limited him (he had only 8.5 sacks in both seasons combined), but his 2014 showed that he was over that.

Pierre-Paul would help the Bears in two ways — he is a proven veteran who knows what it takes to succeed and win, and he is young enough to improve the age problem they have. He deserves to get a look over.