The safety position on the Chicago Bears was a revolving door for most of the last decade, but Ryan Pace found stability with a pair of day three draft picks to lock down the secondary.
That luxury will be threatened this offseason as Adrian Amos’ rookie contract expires.
The fifth-round pick in 2015 has certainly outplayed his draft stock, and he could attract some attention if he hits the open market.
The Bears have other options in free agency if they’re looking to replace him, or even look for a potential upgrade.
Some bigger name safeties have contracts set to expire, and Pace may be able to find a more dynamic play-maker to pair with Eddie Jackson.
Landon Collins
Who better to pair with Jackson than his former college teammate, Landon Collins.
He and the Bears safety played only one season together at Alabama, but they reunited in the Pro Bowl this year and could make many future trips together to the all star game.
Collins isn’t a ball-hawking safety but he’s been known to get his hands on the football from time to time.
He’s a play-maker over the middle of the field and an enforcer who brings the heat to the New York Giants defense.
Collins is a tackling machine that plays like an extra linebacker on the field, and he could be a more souped-up version of what the Bears had in Amos.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
A different Crimson Tide safety could be a better fit into the Bears budget this offseason.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix didn’t play at the same time as Jackson at Alabama, but the former Green Bay Packers safety is quite familiar with how they run things in Chicago.
He fell out of favor with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and was traded to Washington during the season, but he’s still a talented young safety with a knack for generating turnovers.
Clinton-Dix had his ups and downs during his time in Green Bay, but surrounding him with talent like they have in Chicago could put him in a great position to be able to play aggressively.
His low stock should keep his price tag down too.
Tyrann Mathieu
Another safety who fell out of favor with his former team, Tyrann Mathieu signed with the Houston Texans last offseason after refusing to take a pay cut with the Arizona Cardinals.
The “Honey Badger” made a name for himself early in his career but fell out of the spotlight in recent seasons.
He’s undersized at 5-foot-9, but he’s explosive and tenacious, which could bring some added juice to the Bears secondary.
It’s hard to gauge Mathieu’s price tag after a quieter season playing on a one-year, $7 million deal, but his skill set could be a strong compliment to what Jackson does in the middle of the field in Chicago.
Tre Boston
Mathieu’s replacement in Arizona, Tre Boston had somewhat of a breakout year with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017 before taking the one-year, “prove it” deal with the Cardinals.
He was college teammates with Mitchell Trubisky at North Carolina, and he picked off one of the Bears passes back in their Week 3 matchup.
Boston made the most out of his time in a somewhat underwhelming Cardinals defense, but the next team he signs with will be his fourth team in four seasons.
He’s likely looking for a long-term deal, but it remains to be seen if any team is willing to give one to him.
If Boston doesn’t garner a lot of interest on the open market for the second-straight offseason, he could be a low-risk, high-reward option for the Bears to replace Adrian Amos.
