Chicago Bears: Long offseason now set to begin

Instead of playing for a Super Bowl, a long offseason for the Chicago Bears is now set to begin.

Last year at this time, there was optimism for the Chicago Bears because they had just finished the 2018 season at 12-4 and were getting ready for a home Wild Card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, a year later, the Bears are heading home and will sit through a long offseason while their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers will play for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

It’s amazing how much something can change in a year and now, there’s a lot of change that needs to happen between now and the next time the Bears take the field in 2020. The biggest thing that everyone will be watching for is what the Bears do at the quarterback position. While nobody wants to see Mitchell Trubisky be the starter, he’s going to be on the roster next year but whether he will start remains to be seen.

Then there’s the offensive line, which regressed considerably in 2019 and will have a few decisions to make. First up, will be the status of right guard Kyle Long, who appears as if he’ll be a cap casualty. Then the Bears will need to replace him via free agency or the NFL Draft.

And finally, the Bears will need to address the tight end position. 2017 second-round pick Adam Shaheen is likely gone while Trey Burton will have one more year to prove himself. The Bears cannot just take a tight end on day three of the NFL Draft and hope he pans out. Tight end needs to be a position the Bears address with one of their two second-round picks.

On defense, the Bears will have a decision to make at the middle linebacker position. Both Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski are set to be free agents and the Bears could be in a situation where they’ll need to pay either Trevathan or Kwiatkoski.

Overall, get ready for a long offseason of waiting and seeing what the Bears do. Whatever happens this offseason will set the Bears up for a number of years to come either for long-term success or failure. General Manager Ryan Pace and Head Coach Matt Nagy will have multiple questions to answer, many of which will either save them their jobs or see them fired 365 days from now.