Chicago Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller to an offer sheet
Roquan Smith Jerseys 2019 , a person familiar with the situation said Friday.Fuller is the Bears’ transition player, and the tag gives Chicago five
days to match the offer.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity because neither team has announced the signing. The Chicago Tribune
first reported the move.The 26-year-old Fuller is considered a key player for
Chicago’s defense. The tag announced last week guarantees Fuller $12.9 million
next season.The Bears the face the possibility of letting Fuller go to their NFC
North rival if they don’t match the offer.The Packers on Friday also officially
announced the signing of free agent Jimmy Graham, the 6-foot-7 tight end who
gives quarterback Aaron Rodgers a big target over the middle. Graham has 556
catches and 69 touchdown receptions in eight NFL seasons.He posted a heartfelt
note on Twitter on Friday thanking the Seahawks organization and teammates for
his three years in Seattle.Graham’s arrival in Green Bay coincided with the
release of longtime receiver Jordy Nelson, who has since joined the Oakland
Raiders.This has been a busier-than-normal start to the offseason for Green Bay
in Brian Gutekunst’s first year as general manager. The Packers have also signed
defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson and acquired backup quarterback Deshone
Kizer from the Cleveland Browns for cornerback Damarious Randall.—
IntroductionOver the last few years I find I’ve developed a complicated
relationship with the offseason. On one hand, offseasons are obviously bad
because the Bears aren’t playing football anymore. On the other, the Bears have
been so bad for so long that the offseason always meant “cutting all our bad
players and signing new good ones”. Offseasons became a time for hope, a refuge
from losing that allowed the Bears to win the Super Bowl in July without ever
playing a game. That is, until Pace blew everything up and made them good.For
the first time in a long time, the Bears have a team that’s worth keeping.
Pretty much every player save a few (looking at you Mizzell) made positive
contributions all season and is worth bringing back. That said, they can clearly
improve at some positions and roster cuts are inevitable. But just who will
those cuts be?In this roundtable, your WCG staffers took a crack at two light
offseason questions:Besides Cody Parkey, who’s the one current Bears player you
will be surprised to see as a 2019 Chicago Bear? Who do you think will be the
most surprising cut/trade?Our answers are below — take a look and see what you
think! Besides Cody Parkey, who’s the one current Bears player you will be
surprised to see as a 2019 Chicago Bear? Jacob Infante: It would be incredibly
baffling if Dion Sims stayed with the Bears in 2019. They would save $6 million
by releasing him this offseason, and given his injury concerns and lackluster
production, he’s as good as gone.Robert Schmitz: Setting Parkey and Sims aside,
I’ll be surprised if Sam Acho ends up a Bear. While some players (*cough* Sims)
get cut for poor play, others get cut simply because they have the wrong
contract at the wrong time. Unfortunately for Acho
White Khalil Mack Jerseys , the Bears’ had a phenomenal defensive season both before and after his injury. Since the Bears can save ~2 million when they cut the
30-year-old pass rusher, I expect Pace to let him go.As far as big-ticket FAs, I
doubt Amos is back but that’s neither here nor there. Erik Duerrwechter: With
everything surrounding his future in recent months, I will be shocked if Dion
Sims is still under contract with the Bears in 2019. He would cost over $6
million to keep next season, which is far too rich for a player who’s listed as
the #3 TE in this offense, at best. He didn’t take advantage of the
opportunities in the receiving game prior to his season ending concussion, nor
did he really showcase the solid blocking skills that Sims was known for in
Miami. He doesn’t fit this offense, and it won’t make any sense to keep him any
further. Sam Householder: Broken record answer is Dion Sims and Sam Acho. They
are the most obvious cap casualties. The other name I’ll say is Taquan Mizzell.
I have no idea what the coaching staff sees in him, but he has done next to
nothing. His contract is really small so it’s an easy cut and I think that Ryan
Pace and the scouts are going to be focused on revamping the RB room, whether
it’s through a signing or the draft. For those reasons I see Mizzell gone (and I
wouldn’t be shocked if Benny Cunningham were cut too).Ken Mitchell: I can’t say
that I would be surprised if Dion Sims was a Bear in 2019, because I would
actually be fall-down knock-me-over shocked if he was still on the team. I would
be in full-on “let’s grab the torches and pitchforks and go witch hunting at
Halas Hall” kind of mad if he is brought back. Also, although I really like the
guy, I would be surprised if Sam Acho is back. I wouln’t be mad about it, Sams a
great guy and he can play... it would, however, surprise me.WhiskeyRanger: Well,
aside from the obvious names like Parkey and Sims
Khalil Mack Jerseys 2019 , I’d probably say Michael Burton. He only appeared in 8 games (9 if you count the playoffs), and was only in on about 4.5% of offensive snaps.
On top of that, he was used almost exclusively as a blocker, only receiving a
single touch in 2018, a 6 yard reception all the way back in week 1. As an
Unrestricted Free Agent in 2019, there is absolutely no way he’s a Chicago Bear
next season. Honestly, I’m not quite sure why he was on the team THIS season.
They just did not use the position.Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: Among the players
currently under contract the most likely to be cut is Dion Sims, and I’d be
shocked if he was a part of the offseason roster. I thought he’d add some value
to the team since he survived a coaching change after his disappointing 2017,
but he did nothing this year for Matt Nagy. I have a feeling he was just around
to provide insurance in case Adam Shaheen’s development was slowed. When Shaheen
was hurt in preseason the Bears had to roll with Sims and he only managed two
receptions in 8 games. There’s no way the Bears are keeping him on the roster
when releasing him will give them $6 million to play with. Who do you think will
be the most surprising cut/trade?Jacob Infante: As boring as it is, I don’t see
the Bears making any surprising cuts or trades this offseason. Jordan Howard
would be the only notable player I realistically see them trading this
offseason, but considering how long he has been the subject of trade rumors, it
wouldn’t be incredibly surprising to see him gone.Robert Schmitz: The Bears
don’t have a whole lot of great options for cuts or trades. Anyone they’d want
to trade is probably too valuable to move and anyone they can cut (besides Sims)
is worth their current price point. The most surprising cut I could see actually
happening is Long for purely money reasons. He’s pretty much the only surprise
cut I can fathom right now -- I think Trevathan has played too well to get cut
going into the last year of his deal.As far as potential trades go, none of them
would be all too surprising. That said, I did cook up a zany idea for y’all – if
Anthony Miller comes on well in the offseason I could theoretically see a world
where the Bears move Gabriel to make room for Wims. This would give us two
taller possession WRs to pair with Miller and Cohen, much shiftier speed
players. Obviously this trade would be pretty wacky, but it’s an idea.Erik
Duerrwaechter: I’ll be somewhat surprised if Jordan Howard is dealt in the
off-season. As I said the last time this topic was approached, I can only see
Howard being traded if Ryan Pace is offered a deal too good to refuse. Other
than that
White Jordan Howard Jerseys , Matt Nagy has demonstrated his flexibility and abilities to adjust his game plans for the surrounding talent, provided that
said talent is decent to begin with. I do envision the Bears bringing in a new
featured back to take over on offense. I also expect Jordan Howard to at least
be given a chance to compete for work in Chicago’s stable of backs. Sam
Householder: I would say though, the one that would surprise me most would be
Kyle Long. I think that the team likes what he gives them when he’s healthy and
that he’s enough of a locker room guy to be brought back, even with a
restructure. A flat out cut would surprise me a little. The other guy that would
surprise me would be Danny Trevathan. He’s still playing at a high level and I
think that there is just enough of a drop off that it wouldn’t make sense to cut
him.Ken Mitchell: Bradley Sowell, largely because I just don’t see anybody else
there that I do think will be cut that surprises me. Kyle Long could be cut, but
I’m not thinking they well. There’s one big huge cap saving out there not named
Dion Sims, and that’s Allen Robinson, but there’s no way that guy is cut because
that would just be crazy and wrong and gut our offense... so... not happening. I
don’t think many people really paid attention to how Ryan Pace built an out in
Robinson’s contract and frontloaded the guarantees mostly in 2018... in case
Robinson flamed out, not much harm done. Of course, he didn’t so it’s all good,
but there’s very little dead money in that contract now “just in case things go
badly”.The only other guy I see there is Sherick McMannis if he loses a step
this offseason, because he’s got some dead money and he’s going to be 32 next
year... but I don’t expect that to happen either. WhiskeyRanger: Again, aside
from the obvious (Howard, which I actually don’t think will happen), I’m going
with Danny Trevathan. He’s got 1 more year on his contract, and is due in the
neighborhood of $7.6 million next year, so he represents a decent amount of
savings for the team
Jordan Howard Jerseys 2019 , and should return some fairly decent draft capital. With the emergence of Roquan Smith and a pair of young ILB also on the roster,
the Bears could be tempted to trade Danny now, rather than potentially letting
him walk in 2020 as an Unrestricted Free Agent (should they not extend or sign
him to a new deal). Of course, this will depend on how comfortable they are
depending on Nick Kwiatkoski and Joel Iyiegbuniewe, as well as the number and
type of sub packages Chuck Pagano envisions calling in 2019. Danny’s played well
here, so he’s probably the most surprising player I could legitimately see being
traded this off-season.Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: I don’t think there will be any
cuts or trades that surprise me. I think Long is staying and I think Howard will
be traded if the return is valuable enough. This team is good, and with another
year together they’ll be even better. There isn’t a glaring weakness (besides
kicker) that they need money to address, so most everyone stays to try and keep
Club Dub going.SummaryPretty much all of us agree that Sims and Acho are likely
gone but aren’t particularly sure of anyone after that. The Bears don’t have
more than a handful of players worth cutting, so any cuts or trades outside of
Sims, Acho, or depth are likely going to come out of left field. Anything is
possible with Ryan Pace, but it sure looks like the Bears’ roster won’t change
much between 2018 and 2019.Now it’s your turn. Who would you be surprised to see
as a Bear in 2019? Who do you think might end up a surprising cut/trade?
