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6 Bears on Thin Ice After Shane Waldron Hiring

Which Chicago Bears players are on thin ice after the Shane Waldron hiring?

By Sayre Bedinger

Jan 7, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) during the game
Jan 7, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) during the game / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
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3. Robert Tonyan, tight end

Let Robert Tonyan be a cautionary tale that sometimes, hiring the guys you know the best doesn't always work out great. Although Cole Kmet has been the presumptive TE1 for the Bears anyway, former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy brought in Tonyan, a player he knew from his time with the Green Bay Packers.

Tonyan caught a whopping 11 touchdown passes back in the 2020 season for the Packers, helping Aaron Rodgers to an MVP season and earning some hype for himself in the process. Unfortunately, that season for Tonyan was complete fool's gold. He never even came close to matching that level of production, certainly not with the Chicago Bears.

Although he only signed a short-term deal in Chicago, Tonyan caught just 11 passes in 17 games and had a pair of drops among his 17 targets.

I'm sure we'll see players with connections to Shane Waldron coming into Chicago this offseason, but let guys like Lucas Patrick and Robert Tonyan serve as a cautionary tale that perhaps the best course of action is starting over or starting fresh at certain spots. You don't always have to fill out your roster depth with just the guys you know.

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