So, the Bears saved 8 million in cap space and added depth and yet managed to get similar production and somehow this is an indictment on Pace?!?!
Well, they 'saved' $8M in cap space by cutting him, but then had a hole on the roster. That put them in a situation where they reached a bit on a player with medical red flags (Jenkins), then also had to sign a 39 year old FA.
Actually, taking a step back the Bears were extremely lucky that Peters held up for most of the season. When they signed him they had no starting left tackle and the market was really bare.
Truthfully, Leno's cap number for Washington this season is just under $4M. The team could have asked his agent to seek a trade (while also asking what his FA contract would look like). They bring that info back to Pace, he validates some things, then they renegotiate a deal, spreading that $8M cap hit over 2-3 more years.
When it comes to Pace along the OL all his decisions seem so reactive and rushed. There's no proactivity in restocking that area, which always has injuries. I think giving Massie and Leno big deals was a mistake. They ended up being very lucky that neither of those players missed significant time. Granted, neither was good, but there was no depth, so it actually could have been worse. It's not like Pace adopted those contracts or that OL depth situation. He created it, then did nothing to change it.
