Chicago Bears: Jordan Lucas puts team in difficult situation

Facing an uphill battle to make the Chicago Bears, Jordan Lucas put the team in a difficult spot, indicating that he plans to kneel during the anthem.

Signed to a one-year, $1M contract this offseason, Jordan Lucas was already facing a difficult task of making the Chicago Bears roster. The 26-year-old has primarily played on special teams during his tenures with the Dolphins and Chiefs.

During the 2018 campaign, Lucas played in all 16 games and made four starts, but again, he accounted for just 22 percent of the defensive snaps and 47 percent of special teams snaps. The following season, his playing time on the defensive side of the ball dropped to just four percent of the team’s snaps.

And with a crowded safety room, he could be among the first wave of cuts in training camp. But Lucas has added a new wrinkle to the equation, stating that he plans to kneel “110 percent” this upcoming season in a recent conversation with Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune.

Amid the George Floyd outrage and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement, I have no issue with Lucas kneeling during the anthem on a personal level. What happened with Floyd and what continues to happen in the US is terrible. Change is needed, and someone needs to be the voice.

But as noted, it will be challenging for Lucas to make the team, given Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson‘s status on the roster. Accompanied with the Deon Bush and potentially Duke Shelley filling out the safety depth chart, Lucas could be on the outside looking in.

The problem with that is if the Bears cut Lucas in training camp, his public statement for kneeling will become the narrative for his release and not from a roster depth perspective.

I support Lucas for his future demonstrations, but, man, the Bears might be forced to add him to the roster to avoid the aftermath that would surely result from a release.