Should Chicago Bears take a flier on Muhammad Wilkerson?

If Muhammad Wilkerson hits the free agent market, the Chicago Bears should make a run at him on a “prove-it” deal.

With NFL free agency coming soon, the speculation regarding whom the Chicago Bears will attempt to sign is about to reach critical levels in a few weeks.

In a nod to this, Bill Barnwell addressed free agent signings, along with a few other offseason moves, the Bears and other NFC North teams should make before the rush hits.

Among a few more obvious moves (cutting Mike Glennon, re-signing Kyle Fuller and Cameron Meredith, declining Kevin White’s fifth-year option), Barnwell obviously gets to the bold one every Bears fan wants to see: that the team should sign Jarvis Landry.

We’ve debated the pros and cons of signing him here already and will again as free agency approaches. If it happens, it will be one of the more anticipated signings the Bears have made in a while.

But Barnwell also sprinkled another interesting proposition to mull over: should the Chicago Bears consider signing free agent defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson?

"…Wilkerson is expected to hit the market this offseason when the Jets cut their former first-round pick to shed his $20 million cap hit, which would be the largest for any defensive end in football. Wilkerson has been wildly disappointing over the past two seasons since signing the deal, and nobody’s going to pay him that much.On a lesser deal, though? There are plenty of teams that could use a defensive lineman with Wilkerson’s track record of getting after the quarterback from the interior, and the Bears’ front seven would look terrifying with a rejuvenated Wilkerson in the fold."

Wilkerson, if you remember, was a highly debated trade target last year as the New York Jets desperately tried to move on from his monster cap hits ($18 million last year, $20 million this year) from the five-year, $86 million extension he signed before the 2016 season. If they cut him now, they’ll save $11 million.

That, and they’ll send away a clearly disgruntled player who isn’t producing at the same level as he did early in his career.

After earning AP Second-Team All-Pro honors twice (2012, 2015) along with a Pro Bowl in 2015, Wilkerson fell off significantly after signing his contract in 2016.

As just one measure for perspective, Wilkerson posted 12 sacks in 2015. Since then, he has eight combined in his next two seasons. He hadn’t had that low a sack total over two seasons since 2011-2012, his first two years in the league.

Part of that might have been due to an ankle fracture he suffered in January 2016, after which the team franchised him before inking him to his big deal.

But former coach Rex Ryan has commented on Wilkerson’s lack of engagement and discipline since Ryan left in 2014. Jets coach Todd Bowles has even disciplined Wilkerson multiple times for tardiness to meetings, including sitting him for games.

Then again, maybe he felt like playing for the Jets, who have gone 5-11 the last two seasons, was a waste of time anyway. Just a thought.

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Wilkerson worth a flier?

Has Wilkerson’s production fallen off because he’s just not the same player anymore? Is it because the Jets have only won 10 games in two seasons since his dominant 2015? Maybe it’s both?

In either case, if the Jets cut him, looking into Wilkerson as a short-term signing could absolutely make sense.

He has already shown the ability to be elite as a 3-4 defensive end, something the Chicago Bears could really use opposite Akiem Hicks.

He’ll be 29 this season, so there’s reason to believe that he still has tread on the tires. For reference, Hicks is less than a month younger than Wilkerson, though Wilkerson has played more.

And with the amount of cap space the Bears have, there’s no reason they can’t drop ~$10-15 million on a one-year deal for Wilkerson if they wanted to. Pace does value his cap space, so maybe that won’t be something he’s interested in. But it certainly wouldn’t kill the Bears, that’s for sure.

Slotting Wilkerson alongside Hicks and Eddie Goldman could be horrifying, even if Wilkerson is only a fraction of himself. Even that fraction would represent an improvement over Mitch Unrein, with all due respect.

Then, throw in a new edge rusher, Fuller and competition at cornerback with Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos at safety? Are you seeing how crazy that could look?

Next: Jarvis Landry a perfect fit in Bears offense?

This, of course, banks on Wilkerson using a change of scenery to motivate him to maximize his potential again. And that, in turn, assumes that has been the real problem with his time in New York.

Maybe there are other issues to keep in mind there. Maybe he just doesn’t have the motor anymore to play at an elite level. The Bears definitely need to consider this if they meet with him.

And if the Bears did sign him, one can’t just expect him to make a Pro Bowl again.

But as of right now, it’s hard to see how adding him wouldn’t be an upgrade for the Chicago Bears. Even a short-term look at Wilkerson could help the Bears make noise in the NFC North. It all depends on if Pace thinks it’s worth it or if he’d rather spend money elsewhere.