MINNEAPOLIS — Ha Ha Clinton-Dix came to the Bears for the chance to play on a great defense and reestablish himself as a coveted safety. As he heads toward unrestricted free agency, he believes he’s in position to draw widespread interest.
Whether that takes him out of the Bears’ price range is yet to be determined.
“That’s not my decision,” he said after the Bears finished with a 21-19 victory over the Vikings. “I don’t know. Right now I just really want to enjoy this win. I’ll worry about the future later. My thing was to play a full 16 games and be committed to those 16 games and let everything else take care of itself. I think that happened.”
When pressed on his interest in returning to the Bears, if possible, he nodded at fellow safety Eddie Jackson and said, “I would love to play with this guy for the rest of my career. If he’s not here, I’ll go wherever he goes. But this is a crazy business. You never know what’s gonna happen.”
The Bears signed Clinton-Dix to a one-year, prove-it deal worth $3.3 million after the Packers dumped him in a trade to the Redskins last season. He finished with 78 tackles, two interceptions, five pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
If that drives up the bidding, it’ll be hard for him to turn it down. Fresh off his 27th birthday, this could be Clinton-Dix’s last chance for a long-term contract.
When asked if he accomplished his goal of resetting the market for himself, he said, “Most definitely, man.”
“I think this was one of my best years as a pro,” he continued. “The guys around me made this year simple for me, easy for me. I had fun this year. It wasn’t the outcome I wanted, but I was only promised 16 games.”
Clinton-Dix also thought this was one of the best defenses on which he’s played.
“Hell yeah,” he said. “This defense was great. It allowed me to really have fun and play my game. Just being around so many pros, so many guys that love the game, I learned a lot. That’s the most important part about this year for me, just learning from others and getting different concepts of the game.
“One of the things I really wanted to work on this year was my covering, my one-on-ones. Just putting in time with [Jackson] in the offseason in OTAs and training camp. Just confidence and being prepared for everything — this guy helped me out a lot. It was dope.”
