Chicago Bears rumors: Should they go after Muhammad Wilkerson?
The Chicago Bears are rumored to be interested in Pro Bowl defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. Is the price to acquire him too high?
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace has done a fabulous job of remaking the roster. In just under a month, he has added enough players to give fans hope that the team can be a playoff contender this season.
Pace converted the inside linebacker corps from a liability into a strength. After losing Jarvis Jenkins, he went out and got Akiem Hicks. He also added Bobby Massie, Manny Ramirez and Ted Larsen, adding depth on the offensive line to protect Jay Cutler and open holes for the running backs.
Now the attention has turned to the draft and who the Chicago Bears can get to help even more.
Not so fast, however. Pace may not be done acquiring talent just yet.
There are rumors that have been getting louder the last few days that the Chicago Bears have interest in Pro Bowl defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson.
The 26-year old, 6-foot-4, 305 pound Wilkerson has the franchise tag on him, but he is seeking a big contract (about $50 million guaranteed), and with the New York Jets already with a pretty good defensive line, they look like they are balking at that idea.
Wilkerson is a top-five defensive lineman. In 2015, he recorded 12 sacks and 64 tackles, and he also had three forced fumbles. The Chicago Bears defense had trouble causing turnovers last season, so Wilkerson could help improve that, as well as getting to the quarterback.
There are several teams that are interested in acquiring Wilkerson, but with his contract demands, whatever team that goes after him will need to have some cap space.
That would include the Chicago Bears.
After all their deals, the Bears still have over $23.6 million in salary cap space. They also have over $70 million available net season, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves on that.
We know the Chicago Bears can afford to bring in Wilkerson, but SHOULD they pay the price?
We cannot just look at the contract Wilkerson’s play commands. We also have to look at what kind of deal the Jets will want for him. The Jets are thought to be looking for a first round pick, and definitely multiple picks for him.
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The Bears have a couple of fourth-round picks, so they could give up a one and a four, but would that be enough to satisfy the Jets?
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune recently wrote about the possibility of the Chicago Bears acquiring Wilkerson.
"I doubt any team is going to want to fork over a first rounder and then give Wilkerson the kind of huge contract he is seeking (think Malik Jackson money here). Even if the price was a second-round pick, again I don’t know any club wants to fork over the pick and back up the Brinks truck to pay the player. I would say the Bears are even less inclined to do this. Remember what GM Ryan Pace has talked about in terms of putting together multiple draft classes. I’d hold out hope for an epic draft pick more than an epic trade for Wilkerson."
I agree with Biggs and think the price may be too high for the Chicago Bears. They can get a pretty good defensive lineman in the draft (it is deep with them this year), and there are other areas that are in need and players who can be picked up without having to give up draft picks.
Safety Donte Whitner, for example, is available. He also played under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, so he may be able to help shore up that unit at a lower cost.
Who knows, however, what Pace has in mind. He really likes acquiring young veterans who are on the upside, and Wilkerson matches that. He may just go for it and pull the trigger.
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The better move may be to just wait out the Jets and see how much the price goes down. The price at this moment may just be too high, and Pace has shown that he likes to make cost-effective deals to improve the Chicago Bears roster.