Grading the Chicago Bears’ main moves in free agency
Keeping the secondary intact (A-)
Of course, the Chicago Bears could always use more depth in the secondary, as injuries have been a problem over the past few years.
And it was somewhat unfortunate that the Bears couldn’t bring in a player like Trumaine Johnson, though they probably couldn’t afford another $14+ million cornerback.
That said, you can do worse than rolling with the Bears’ best coverage crew since in about five seasons.
Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos will, of course, patrol the back end of the defense for a full season. In particular, the Bears will pay very close attention to Amos, who could be a free agent in 2019.
And they shored up their cornerback room with a couple of solid signings.
Kyle Fuller (A)
Don’t be a Bill Barnwell about this move.
The Chicago Bears made a very calculated, shrewd decision with Fuller that paid off very nicely.
Pace clearly learned how to manage situations like this after what happened with Alshon Jeffery. If you put the franchise tag on a player, you run the risk of alienating a guy in terms of long-term contracts. And if you don’t tag a player at all, you risk losing them completely.
The happy medium: use the transition tag, which, if you’re paying attention, clearly means “transition to a long-term contract”.
Know this: the Chicago Bears knew what Fuller was likely to get on the market. And they didn’t care.
Unless it was outlandish, they were going to match it. They had no intention of letting him leave, and paying him was always the goal.
On the #Bears and CB Kyle Fuller: Getting a 4-year deal for $56M is a huge win for him and his team. It’s impossible to get this done on the transition tag and they did it using the #Packers structure. For $14M a year, Fuller has security. Big day for all.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2018
On top of that, the offer sheet the Green Bay Packers signed Fuller may end up being a win-win for the Bears.
For one, if that offer never happened, they would’ve gotten to just pay Fuller $12.9 million in the interim while crafting a multi-year deal.
And with the Packers having practically no money to outbid the Bears, they both set a very affordable market for Fuller and essentially gift-wrapped him to Pace.
And with just $18 million guaranteed and an out after two seasons? Though the contract is somewhat front-loaded and worth $14 million a year, that’s a good deal.
That’s why the Bears didn’t mind making it.
Prince Amukamara (B+)
The Chicago Bears had to pay Amukamara a bit more than the $7 million they gave him last season, but they could’ve done a lot worse.
When healthy, Amukamara proved a very solid player for the Bears in 2017.
He doesn’t have the greatest ball skills, but he’s rarely out of place and tackles well. Plus, he only got beaten for one touchdown last season.
He’s no Trumaine Johnson, but for the value, Amukamara works just fine.