Who Should the Bears Cut and Keep this Offseason?
BY JACK SOBLE ON JANUARY 25, 2018 • ( 9 COMMENTS )
It’s that time of year again. The Chicago Bears recently completed another disappointing season and hope to make dramatic improvements from their 5-11 record in 2017.
Before the Bears can start to acquire talent from around the league, they must first choose what to do with a good portion of their 2017 roster, thanks to a good number of expiring contracts and an unprecedentedly awful free agent class from last March. It was so pitiful that quite literally every single player who was signed at the start of the 2017 league year will be listed in this article.
Luckily, all of those signings were on team-friendly deals that the Bears can and will easily get out of. So without further ado, here are the players I believe the Bears should cut, keep, re-sign, and let walk (all numbers according to spotrac.com).
Note: the Possible Cut section only includes players with significant paychecks. Players like Hroniss Grasu, who should be cut but are paid very little, are omitted.
Possible Cuts
Mike Glennon (QB), 2018 Cap Hit: $16 million, Dead Money: $4.5 million
There are a few very easy decisions on this list, but this one tops the rest. General Manager Ryan Pace grossly miscalculated Mike Glennon‘s ability to play the most important position in sports, as well as his leadership skills, evidenced by when he threw wide receiver Josh Bellamy under the bus for an interception against Tampa Bay.
No type of fan was more infuriating last offseason than the “Why would they draft Trubisky if they signed Mike Glennon to a three-year contract?” people, and they are about to see how Glennon’s deal was really only for one year.
Verdict: Cut
Josh Sitton (G), Cap Hit: $8.6 Million, Dead Money: $666,668
Sitton is one of the more difficult decisions that general manager Ryan Pace will have to make. He’s a proven veteran and four-time Pro Bowler, who is one of the more essential leaders in the locker room and on the offensive line.
However, Sitton is on the wrong side of 30, has injury concerns, and would save the Bears eight million if they choose to release him. There were also a few rumors going around that the Bears were shopping Sitton at the trade deadline. Right now I think he’s too valuable of a player to let go for nothing and I don’t think teams will be getting in line to give up a draft pick for an aging guard in the last year of his contract.
He should stay, but the Bears should invest heavily in-depth behind him.
Verdict: Keep
Pernell McPhee (OLB), Cap Hit: $8.1 Million, Dead Money: $1 Million
It saddens me to say, but this is not a hard choice. When McPhee signed in 2015, he won over Bears fans with his violent style of play, sack production, and hatred for Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers. I love everything about McPhee, except for his knees. Constant and somewhat severe injuries have made McPhee a shell of what he once was, and even his defensive coordinator Vic Fangio knows that he’ll never be the same guy on the field.
At this point, McPhee is nothing more than a rotational outside linebacker and he’s being paid way too much for that.
Verdict: Cut
Dion Sims (TE), Cap Hit: $6.3 Million, Dead Money: $666,667
Sims came to Chicago with the hope that he could become more than he was at the time, which is a solid blocking tight end who isn’t enough of a receiving threat to be anything other than a number two on the depth chart. He failed to do just that, and he failed to make a significant impact on the Bears’ offense to justify his hefty paycheck. Sims is a fine backup tight end but there are many players out there who will do his job much better and for much less cash.
Verdict: Cut
Bobby Massie (RT), Cap Hit: $6.1 Million, Dead Money: $500,000
Massie signed as a free agent to a moderately high-paying deal with the Bears banking on him becoming a complete player. With Massie, the question was can he develop his pass blocking ability to compliment his run blocking prowess? The answer was a resounding “No.”
By my count, he was responsible for seven sacks in 2017, the most out of any lineman on the team by a fairly significant margin. He wouldn’t be a bad swing tackle and a team like the Bears could always use offensive line depth, but Massie is earning too much money for that to happen.
Verdict: Cut
Markus Wheaton (WR) and Marcus Cooper (CB), Cap Hit: $5.8 and $5.5 million, Dead Money: $750,000 and $1 Million
Wheaton and Cooper are grouped together here because they had the same general type of season in what will be their only with the Bears. Wheaton was injured for a little less than half of the season and when healthy he caught a total of three passes.
Cooper started off the year semi-promising and then proceeded to fall off a cliff when he Leon Lett-ed himself against Pittsburgh and became cursed. He gave up significant yardage or a touchdown every single time he saw the field for the rest of the season. I will admit that I was a huge fan of the Marcus Cooper signing. I thought he could be the play-making, interception producing cornerback that the Bears desperately needed. I could not have been more wrong.
For his ungodly horrendous fumble alone, Cooper belongs not on the Bears’ roster but in the Pit of Misery.
Dilly Dilly!
Verdict: Cut Both
Willie Young (OLB), Cap Hit: $5.4 Million, Dead Money: $900,000
A rare holdover and somewhat successful signing from the godforsaken Phil Emery era, outside linebacker and fishing aficionado Willie Young, was re-upped by Ryan Pace and company with a two-year extension in June of 2016. He responded with a productive seven and a half sack season in a part-time role in 2016 before missing most of last season with a torn triceps.
With McPhee likely gone, the only other outside linebacker under contract for the Bears is Leonard Floyd, who has monstrous potential but has not been able to stay healthy. Neither has Young, but he’s worth bringing back for depth purposes.
Verdict: Keep
Kevin White (WR), Cap Hit: $5.3 Million, Dead Money: $5.3 Million
White has been best known for his complete inability to stay on the field since being drafted seventh overall in 2015. Now in the final year of his rookie contract, White should get one last chance to contribute to the Bears. However, the mistake that they made last season was approaching the offseason with the expectation that he would.
Obviously, that backfired in a disastrous way. They should expect nothing from White but hope for the best, especially because they don’t save any money by letting him go.
Verdict: Keep
Jerrell Freeman (ILB), Cap Hit: $4 Million, Dead Money: $500,000
After the 2016 season, Freeman had supposedly established himself as one of the leaders and top tacklers on an up and coming Bears defense. Even after a four-game PED suspension towards the end of the year. That all went down the drain when he found himself on IR after just one week with a pectoral injury. Later he was suspended another ten games for a repeat PED violation.
I don’t want to speculate but he seems to be in a pretty bad place, and I hope the Bears and the league give him all the help that he needs. However, that help should not include a roster spot.
Verdict: Cut
Unrestricted Free Agents
(i.e. not including Cameron Meredith and other former UDFAs who are now restricted, free agents. It also does not include Zach Miller, who is a UFA. I wish him the absolute best with his recovery, and it was a catch.)
Prince Amukamara (CB)
Amukamara was a bit of a consolation prize for the Bears after missing out on free agent cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and A.J. Bouye, both of whom they pursued. He had minor injury issues at the beginning of the year but came back and didn’t play like a superstar (zero interceptions, a defense-leading seven penalties) but he was solid enough to warrant coming back for another year.
If they view a free agent corner who produces turnovers to be an upgrade, or if they particularly like one who will be available through the draft, they should take a shot at an upgrade. For now, Amukamara stays.
Verdict: Re-Sign
Dontrelle Inman (WR)
After a promising start to the Dontrelle Inman era, the mid-season trade acquisition from the Chargers disappeared. He produced in garbage time against the Eagles and Vikings but outside of his first two games, Inman did not contribute enough nor does he have reliable enough hands to warrant an extension.
He essentially played the role that Cameron Meredith would have played had he not torn up his knee in a preseason game. Luckily, he did not reach the threshold of 25 receptions that would have forced the Bears to give Los Angeles a seventh-round pick for his services.
He is not worth bringing back.
Verdict: Cut
Kendall Wright (WR)
Wright quickly established himself as Trubisky’s favorite target. That’s not saying much, given that his second option was usually Joshua Bellamy in a very forgettable year for the Bears’ receiving corps. Wright, however, served as Trubisky’s go-to guy out of the slot when the Bears needed a first down, like in overtime against Baltimore. He also proved adept at running those run-pass options that new Head Coach Matt Nagy features in his offense.
The Bears should bring back at least one receiver who has the trust of their young quarterback and Wright should be that guy.
Verdict: Keep (Re-sign)
Kyle Fuller (CB)
Count me in the group of people who didn’t think that Fuller was worth a roster spot last season and had crow for lunch on most Sundays. Fuller responded to missing the entire 2016 season and the Bears signing multiple replacement options with his best year by far.
Was his performance in 2017 enough to give him a long-term extension as a number one corner? In my opinion, no. He needs to continue to prove himself. This is what the franchise tag is for. It’s a lot of money, but only for one year and the Bears have plenty of cap space.
Let Fuller prove that 2017 was not a fluke, then lock him up if he does.
Verdict: Franchise Tag