Chicago Bears: Tavon Young deal could impact Bryce Callahan

The Chicago Bears are a better defense with Bryce Callahan, but will they be able to bring him back?

This offseason, the Chicago Bears don’t have nearly as much going on as they did last year. 2018 was all about filling out the rest of the coaching staff and roster after finding Matt Nagy. Free agency was a huge deal and the Bears were big spenders.

This year, it will be different, as they say. The Bears don’t have nearly as much cash as they had last year, although cutting ties with veteran tight end Dion Sims will save them $6 million (Sims was officially cut on Thursday).

One of the most important in-house free agents for the Bears, this offseason, is slot cornerback Bryce Callahan. Last year, Callahan cemented the fact that he was one of the best at his position and has been for a couple of seasons now.

The Baltimore Ravens had a similar situation as the Bears, with their own free agent slot corner, Tavon Young. Thursday, that situation was resolved as Young signed a pretty hefty contract extension with the Ravens.

Young is still just 24 years old, but now being the highest-paid nickel corner in the league means the Bears will have to pay up for Callahan. Most thought the Bears would end up paying him a decent chunk of change, but now they have to look at Young’s contract and act accordingly.

Callahan is three years older at 27, so the money may not be quite as high up as Young’s deal, but you never know. His performance in Chicago over the last two seasons has been phenomenal when he’s been healthy.

At this point, I would guess general manager Ryan Pace would go somewhere along the lines of a three-year deal worth upwards of $21-$23 million, with incentives potentially kicking in another $2-$3 million.

By comparison, Callahan would be making a little less than Young if he accepted that deal. The big question is, what is another team willing to pay for his services?

Last season, Callahan missed three games and in 2017, he missed four. He actually hasn’t played a full season since becoming a pro, which is kind of worrying.

Whatever the Bears end up doing, it is going to become a reflection of Young’s deal with the Ravens. You better believe Pace is paying close attention to the slot corner market after seeing Baltimore lock their guy down, and hopefully, he gets a deal done with Callahan before we see him exit for another team.