I am kind of laughing at all the dick ripping over Kyle Fuller.
I certainly enjoyed him but I also remember how he is when there isn't a pass rush. It was his contract year when he decided to say fuck everything and go for broke, and mostly gave up on playing cover corner and instead decided he would just try to jump every route and pick everything off, and he ended up winning that lottery. He definitely has a pro bowl level of ability in picking off passes so long as there's a pass rush in front of him, but otherwise he's just a little above average corner.
I mean I'm not going to disparage the guy as he is a good player, but at the price tag he was coming with, he was not worth that money.
And you drafted Jaylon Johnson, who already in his rookie year is showing better traits than Kyle Fuller has.
Is it going to be a hole on the defense? Absolutely.
Is he someone this defense is going to fall apart from because he's not there? Hardly.
Maybe I just feel I have a better stock on the Bears than most of the people grousing about this, but my expectations aren't high to begin with for this upcoming season.
The Bears kept Ryan Pace. The Bears kept Matt Nagy.
I know what they are trying to do to save their jobs and I see the logic behind it, but with an aging defense and an inability to find a real quarterback who can permanently anchor this franchise for the next 15 years, I was already expecting next season to be slightly above average at best and a flaming train wreck at worst and I am here for either one.
The defense has a real shot at completely falling off the ledge this year. I am willing to bet based on the desperate actions of Ryan pace, not just in the signings but in the media stories that have been floated around, that he knows if he doesn't make something happen it is his last year.
therefore I am all in on watching the season that ends the Ryan Pace experiment.
And I recognize that Kyle Fuller is just the first of many on the defense who will likely be getting the boot (traded) over the next 2 to 3 years, if they don't completely decline first and get cut.
And I am genuinely excited for whoever comes in next because despite all of Ryan Pace's stupidity, at least he is not leaving the cupboard bare like Phil Emery, like the Bears Brain trust with Dave wannestedt before that, or like Jerry Angelo when he had his nuts cut off by Lovie Smith's power grab in 2007 on.
When all the aging defensive players phase out, we have a good young core that can help the team bounce back with the right direction.
Jaylon Johnson, David Montgomery, Darnell Mooney, roquan Smith, Bilal Nichols, Sam mustapher, James Daniels, etc.
It's not starting from zero like those other times.
Those are guys young enough that if you draft a quarterback next year, can grow with that quarterback and you still have a good window.
I wish Kyle Fuller the best. But this cap cut was like Thanos: inevitable.
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