?!?!?
Ur acting like billings is ancient. Dude just turned 29 and re-upped with the bears. This is year 7 for him and he's still improving. What?
No, I am acting like a 2 year contract, for a veteran who bounces around the league, that totals about 8 million dollars is a neon sign about how valuable he is. He is cheap to have on the team, and cheap to cut if a rookie outplays him. That is a veteran holdover, not a long term plan.
Let's say he plays out his contract here AND Poles drafts a DT in the first round. in 2024, that is Billings as a starter, Dexter as a starter, Rookie in rotation, Pickens in rotation. In 2025, Billings is either a starter or in the rotation, and a rookie still has two years and an option for another year at a predictable cost, and has the prospect of signing another contract here. In 2026, Billings is no longer a Bear. Given that the third year of Jalen Carter's contract is less than $6M, we can assume that that is what the prospective rookie is making in 2026, and stands a good chance to be outplaying his paycheck.
I personally want Poles to draft offense with every draft pick, but DL is not dismissible out of hand. This team is not likely to make a playoff run next year, but they are planning on what the team will look like in 3 years when they ideally start negotiating CW's contract extension. Any 1st rd DL is a good investment.
