What to do at edge rusher?

[Adipost]

Tank for Bosa?

 

[SugarWalls]

Tank for Bosa?

Who will be available at pick 32?

 

[dabears70]

What about isaiah irving. Is he still on the team

Yep and that Howard Jones kid is still on the team as well, at least I'm pretty sure he is.

 

[playthrough2001]

I have a feeling Lynch is going to bounce back working with Fangio. Some guys just respond to certain coaches or need to be in the right situation to play their best. Confidence is a huge factor in positive performance.

Fitts is really intriguing. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

If we play with 10 we won't have to worry about the other EDGE.

 

[bears5150]

Shea McClellen

 

[dabears70]

I obviously have no idea if this is true but it sure does make a ton of sense.



Chicago Bears: Did Ryan Pace Play Cards Just Right at EDGE?



The Chicago Bears did almost everything right. They needed to execute a near-flawless off-season in order to position for a possible playoff run in 2018.
Somehow they’ve pulled it off. Get Mitch Trubisky some new weapons at wide receiver? Yep. Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, Bennie Fowler, Marlon Brown and Javon Wims all arrive to completely overhaul the unit. Find a replacement for Josh Sitton at guard? Indeed. Second round pick James Daniel, widely considered a huge steal, should plug that hole seamlessly. Find another playmaker for the defense? Say hello to Roquan Smith, widely viewed as the best linebacker in college football.

They also managed to lock up Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, and Prince Amukamara to long-term deals. It couldn’t have gone much better. Except it could’ve. They say it’s impossible to meet every need in one off-season and that’s true. Especially for a rebuilding team like the Bears. Still, it’s hard to accept that they weren’t able to secure more help at edge rusher outside of cheap free agent Aaron Lynch and 6th round pick Kylie Fitts.

They could’ve done a little better there, right? Well sure. The problem is sacrifices are made in the name of the greater good. GM Ryan Pace is no doubt aware of the issue, but he had plenty of issues to sort out and only so many resources to deal with them. Then there’s another factor that often gets forgotten.

Building a team isn’t just about the present. It’s about the future. In this case, the near future.


The 2019 crop of edge rushers is going to be loaded for the Bears
One reason that hasn’t been explored enough to this point is the fact that the solution to their problem may merely be a year off. Most agree the 2018 class of pass rushers, both in free agency and the draft, was weak. Not just in terms of star power but also depth. It marked the first time less than two rushers went in the top 10 of a draft since 2012. Only Bradley Chubb of N.C. State made the cut. Only two went in the entire 1st round. That pretty much sends a clear message.

Such will likely not be the case in 2019. Both the free agent and draft crops are looking strong. Really strong. The list of potential names is hard to ignore:

Free agents
Khalil Mack
Ezekiel Ansah
Demarcus Lawrence
Danielle Hunter
Clay Matthews
Jadeveon Clowney
Dante Fowler Jr.
Dee Ford
Markus Golden
Shane Ray
Trey Flowers

The Draft
Nick Bosa
Clelin Ferrell
Austin Bryant
Josh Allen
Montez Sweat
Joe Jackson

Now obviously all of those names won’t be available to the Bears. Most of the big free agents will be locked up by either long-term deals or franchise tags. Not all of the big draft names will be there when they pick either. What this means is they will at least have a greater opportunity to land one good talent for their edge rusher position next year, if not two. Far better odds than they had at any point this off-season.

Is it possible Pace knew this and geared his entire plan around that realization? It wouldn’t be the first time a GM of a team has done such things. Bill Walsh was famous for it in the 1980s.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Lamar Houston or Willie Young would at least make me feel secure and has to be a better way to spend money than Simms

 

[Raskolnikov]

I want Houston and Hankins. Give me some beef not a prayer and a rookie.

 

[dabears70]

I want Houston and Hankins. Give me some beef not a prayer and a rookie.

I would also love to get one of W.Young or L.Houston and then just play the season out and let Fangio do his thing but i've actually come more around on signing C.Barwin who's been pretty productive each year he's played and has a couple of seasons with double digit sacks and has played in a 4-3 as well as a 3-4 and produced in both. Sign one of them and then hit OLB hard in free agency and the draft next year where like the article i just posted shows that both will have some really really good names in 2019 out there to get.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Agreed.

They are so close to competing it seems foolish to pass on Hankins who would insure the #8 pick stays clean no matter the depth chart, and Barwin as a pure wide 9 style pass rusher would allow Floyd to stay off OTs and use his versatility. I like that even better, did not know available.

Every single year Pace has been here we have started an UDFA at interior D-line at some point in season. He will drop 6 million at third TE into a spot he dropped a 2nd round pick and signed most expensive FA and will pass on Hankins at same price and then mid season, just watch, Jenkins will be failing with some fat couch kid rotating in.

This is the type of hand cuffing decision that gets Pace the “idiot” label from time to time.

Fix the d-line depth!! Hankins Hankins Hankins.

 

[dabears70]

Agreed.

They are so close to competing it seems foolish to pass on Hankins who would insure the #8 pick stays clean no matter the depth chart, and Barwin as a pure wide 9 style pass rusher would allow Floyd to stay off OTs and use his versatility. I like that even better, did not know available.

Every single year Pace has been here we have started an UDFA at interior D-line at some point in season. He will drop 6 million at third TE into a spot he dropped a 2nd round pick and signed most expensive FA and will pass on Hankins at same price and then mid season, just watch, Jenkins will be failing with some fat couch kid rotating in.

This is the type of hand cuffing decision that gets Pace the “idiot” label from time to time.

Fix the d-line depth!! Hankins Hankins Hankins.

The problem is from what i here is that Hankins is asking for big money and that's why he's still on the market. For all we know we could have an offer on the table for Hankins along with multiple other teams and are just waiting for his price to come down. The dude isn't sitting out there because he's lost some of his talent cause it doesn't seem like he has. He wants a big contract.

 

[Raskolnikov]

He’s worth it.

 

[dabears70]

He’s worth it.

Worth what though? $10 mil per? We don't even know what he's wanting but a team will eventually give in or they'll come to an agreement cause he's just too damn good. He damn sure would be a big help to us but not sure i see Pace giving out a $10 mil per type contract at this point but maybe for one year or something like two years but he can get out of it after one.

 

[Probie2429]

Bears really don't have much cap room going forward. The flexibility Pace created with the cap has more or less been cashed in, and this team will look like it is currently constructed for better or worse for the next few years. They still need to extend Goldman which will be a big hit. They will also likely extend Amos (not a big contract but certainly a large increase from his rookie deal). Howard will be around the corner if he is in the long-term plans, which I hope he is not. Really the only two guys that are potential cap casualties for next offseason are Sims and Long.

It seem that EDGE will have to come from within most likely.

 

[wazzupi]

RT/edge/CB are still a need we currently have hicks Nichols RRH Bullard Jenkins Goldman which is more Dline than we normally carry.

 

[RiDLer80]

I think this year, we're pretty much going into the season with what we have at edge. Hopefully Fangio can work his magic with Floyd, Lynch, Pitts and our DL.

I think we address it hard next off-season. Realistic free agent options, IMO: Fowler Jr., Shane Ray, Markus Golden and Dee Ford. I don't see us getting in for those tier-1 guys who will command huge salaries (Mack, Ansah, Lawrence) or an aging guy like Clay Matthews.

Of course, we'll be heavy players for one of the top edge rushers in the 2019 draft.

Just too many holes heading into this off-season to address them all. Like somebody above me said, still have needs at RT, CB and Edge. We'll have next year's free agency and draft to address those three needs. Less needs means we'll likely address all holes before the 2019 season.

 

[dabears70]

I think this year, we're pretty much going into the season with what we have at edge. Hopefully Fangio can work his magic with Floyd, Lynch, Pitts and our DL.

I think we address it hard next off-season. Realistic free agent options, IMO: Fowler Jr., Shane Ray, Markus Golden and Dee Ford. I don't see us getting in for those tier-1 guys who will command huge salaries (Mack, Ansah, Lawrence) or an aging guy like Clay Matthews.

Of course, we'll be heavy players for one of the top edge rushers in the 2019 draft.

Just too many holes heading into this off-season to address them all. Like somebody above me said, still have needs at RT, CB and Edge. We'll have next year's free agency and draft to address those three needs. Less needs means we'll likely address all holes before the 2019 season.

2019 is a great year for OLB in free agency and the draft.

Free agents
Khalil Mack
Ezekiel Ansah
Demarcus Lawrence
Danielle Hunter
Clay Matthews
Jadeveon Clowney
Dante Fowler Jr.
Dee Ford
Markus Golden
Shane Ray
Trey Flowers

The Draft
Nick Bosa
Clelin Ferrell
Austin Bryant
Josh Allen
Montez Sweat
Joe Jackson

 

[Tjodalv]

Bears really don't have much cap room going forward. The flexibility Pace created with the cap has more or less been cashed in, and this team will look like it is currently constructed for better or worse for the next few years. They still need to extend Goldman which will be a big hit. They will also likely extend Amos (not a big contract but certainly a large increase from his rookie deal). Howard will be around the corner if he is in the long-term plans, which I hope he is not. Really the only two guys that are potential cap casualties for next offseason are Sims and Long.

It seem that EDGE will have to come from within most likely.

How do you figure that? They're still sitting at around 24-25 mil in cap space this year with an additional 20 or so opening up next year. Even if they do sign Goldman and Amos to lower top-tier contracts before the season starts they'll still open up the season with 10 mil + and the following offseason with 30+ in functional cap space. If they can't manage to fill out a roster and pick up a top-tier passrusher with 30 mil or more (considerably more with a few cuts), then I'm not sure what kind of deals they'd be offering people.

 

[rawdawg]

How do you figure that? They're still sitting at around 24-25 mil in cap space this year with an additional 20 or so opening up next year. Even if they do sign Goldman and Amos to lower top-tier contracts before the season starts they'll still open up the season with 10 mil + and the following offseason with 30+ in functional cap space. If they can't manage to fill out a roster and pick up a top-tier passrusher with 30 mil or more (considerably more with a few cuts), then I'm not sure what kind of deals they'd be offering people.

33Mil right now in 2019 cap space, without taking into account recently drafted rookie contracts, but also does not include any rollover from this year. Goldman, Amos, Massie, Lynch and Callahan are the only FAs of note. Goldman will get done before the regular season. Amos and Lynch will earn extensions if they play well. And while those extensions would eat up some of that cap space, the Bears would go into 2019 with basically only edge, RT, and CB as needs, barring major health issues. Much better than this offseason when they needed 3 WRs, a TE, an OG/C, a LB, edge, top 3 CBs were FAs, etc.