Chicago Bears: Why the Bears won by not trading for Kaare Vedvik

The Chicago Bears are in search of a kicker and while the Minnesota Vikings traded for perhaps the best young kicker in the NFL, here’s why the Bears won by not trading for Kaare Vedvik.

All throughout 2019, the most watched position by everyone for the Chicago Bears has been kicker. While the Bears continue to roll with Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry, the team did miss out on now-Vikings kicker Kaare Vedvik. However, the question needs to be asked: Did the Bears really win by not trading for Vedvik?

Yes and no. On one hand, it’s easy to say that Vedvik would’ve solved the Bears problems. And while that is true to an extent, on the other hand, the Bears didn’t sacrifice a fifth-round draft pick like the division-rival Minnesota Vikings did in order to land their “supposed kicker of the future.”

See, as of right now, Vedvik is being made out to be a guy that’s going to be the next big thing in the NFL at kicker. And while he could be, he could also just as easily not live up to expectations once he begins kicking with the Vikings.

Why trade for an undrafted kicker, who’s had one strong preseason game so far? Additionally, the fifth-round pick that the Bears didn’t give up, could turn into a future star down the road. The Bears have shown that they are more than capable of finding hidden gems during day three of the NFL Draft.

While General Manager Ryan Pace always preaches an aggressive mindset, he also knows when the price for a player is too high. If the Bears were going to give up a fifth-round draft pick for a proven kicker like Robbie Gould, then it would have made sense to facilitate such a trade. However, the Bears have now put themselves in a position to find their next kicker and do so without giving up a significant amount of draft capital.

The Baltimore Ravens are one that has had a history of being able to successfully develop kickers. From guys like Justin Tucker to Wil Lutz and now Vedvik, many undrafted free-agent kickers have been developed by the Ravens before moving on to other NFL destinations.

Time will tell, however, in the short-term, the Bears are now in a position where they’ll be able to find their next kicker without having to give up any draft capital. Additionally, if their kicker of the future is already on the roster, it means that the Bears win by not trading for Vedvik because no resources were sacrificed.

As teams begin trimming their rosters over the next few weeks, the Bears will certainly have their eyes on every kicking competition in the NFL. While most view missing out on Vedvik as a problem, the Bears should be considered winners as they gave up no draft capital and are now in a position to find their next kicker with money being the only thing that will need to be sacrificed. While Vedvik is one less option for the Bears, there’s no need to panic because there is still plenty of time for this team to get things right.