Chicago Bears: 3 ways team can improve in 2019
2. Bringing back Amos on the right deal
This one is a bit misleading because it’s really about how the Bears can avoid being worse. That’s because it would behoove them to bring back strong safety Adrian Amos. The 25-year old, fifth-round pick out of Penn State has been an extremely solid and reliable player int he Bears’ defensive backfield since being drafted in 2015.
Putting aside for a moment the crazy amount of love Pro Football Focus heaps on him, he really is a good player. It’s important that the Bears do what they can to bring him back as he has shown a great ability to play with and alongside free safety Eddie Jackson.
However — and this is where this move is about making the Bears better next season — they cannot overpay. While the official numbers are not known at this time, the Bears are expected to be low on cap space next year, absent some creative moves from Pace.
From all of the math I've done, I expect the #Bears to roll into the off-season with around $24-25M in cap space (with rollover & Glennon's $2.5M savings from 2017).
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) January 7, 2019
Dion Sims ($6M) is an obvious cut.
Overall, I expect some creative structuring in the coming months.
They’ll have some key decisions on notable contributors, e.g. Bryce Callahan, Bobby Massie, Aaron Lynch. Ideally, they would like to bring all of those players back, but to do that, they cannot overpay for a guy like Amos who will surely want a massive pay raise as he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. His agent will no doubt highlight those gaudy PFF rankings.
However, the Bears simply cannot overpay for Amos. While it would be great to have him back, it would also be somewhat of a luxury, as the Bears could replace him and not experience much of a downgrade. If they do overpay, they will significantly weaken their team because they will be unable to retain other key contributors and/or fill other needs.