Things can certainly change in a year. At this time last season, the Bears’ only real concern was replacing beleaguered kicker Cody Parkey. They had a young core in place that was coming off a strong 12-4 season, and there were high expectations for their offense to take the next step and their defense to continue dominating.
Fast forward, and the Bears have several needs that far outweigh their kicker, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
The offseason has just begun, and the Bears are expected to make plenty of moves. But if the season were to start today, here are five reasons to be cautious about the Bears in 2020.
1. Mitchell Trubisky’s regression
The one glaring issue that serves to potentially hold the Bears back from championship contention is quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky was expected to take the next step in his development last season, but he only served to be arguably the most disappointing aspect of Chicago’s offense.
While the Bears remain publicly committed to Trubisky as their starter for 2020, that’s not set in stone in February. The Bears will likely bring in veteran competition/insurance for Trubisky. But given Ryan Pace’s job figures to be tied to the quarterback he traded up to get and took over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, you figure the Bears will give him one last chance in 2020.
The Good News? Trubisky can’t get much worse in 2020, right? Especially with new offensive coaches in Bill Lazor and John DeFilippo.
2. Leonard Floyd’s lack of production off the edge
Leonard Floyd hasn’t been a complete disappointment. But he’s been a disappointment as a No. 9 overall draft selection. Chicago picked up Floyd’s fifth-year option last year, and if they keep him on the roster he serves to make $13.2 million in 2020.
Floyd has shown that he can get after the quarterback — including a career-high 12 quarterback hits in 2019 — but he’s struggled converting those into sacks. After starting the season with two sacks against the Packers, Floyd managed just one sack in the final 15 games. The Bears pass rush struggled last season, and they really need someone opposite Khalil Mack that can take advantage of those one-on-one opportunities.
The Good News? While the sacks haven’t been there, Floyd does have a penchant for pressuring the quarterback…which is better than not getting close at all.
3. Offensive line woes
For all of the money invested in the Bears offensive line, you expect better production. The unit simply needs to play better, especially when it comes to an anemic run game that never stood a chance.
Essentially, the Bears are stuck with what they’ve got in Charles Leno Jr., James Daniels, Cody Whitehair and Bobby Massie, in terms of the salary cap, but they could turn to the NFL Draft for some young talent. Chicago will need to replace the retired Kyle Long at right guard, and there are in-house options, as well as younger prospects in the NFL Draft. But let’s not pretend that will be a magic cure-all for this offensive line.
The Good News? This is the last season where the Bears are strapped by the massive contracts of their tackles. Hopefully Juan Castillo can salvage something.
4. Tight end struggles
The Bears’ production at the tight end position last season was embarrassing. Bears tight ends combined for 46 receptions for 416 yards and a single touchdown in 2019. This, for an offense that relies heavily on tight end production.
Injuries were a big issue last season as Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen and Ben Braunecker were all placed on injured reserve. But they weren’t contributing much to a struggling Bears offense before going down with injuries. The Bears will certainly do their job to fix the tight end position this offseason, which already includes bringing in new tight ends coach Clancy Barone.
The Good News? There are no shortage of options at tight end through free agency and the NFL Draft.
5. NFC North got competitive
Many expected the Bears to repeat as NFC North champions in 2019. The Packers were coming off a disappointing season and got a new head coach in Matt LaFleur. The Vikings were subjected to Kirk Cousins at quarterback. And the Lions were, well, the Lions.
But the NFC North shocked everyone fairly early on in the season, where all four teams were better than .500 after the first three games of the season. Eventually, the Packers and Vikings pulled away. But looking at those teams especially, if the Bears are going to reclaim their NFC North crown, they’re going to have to defeat some pretty stiff competition. That includes the Packers, who they’ve only defeated four times in their last 20 meetings.
The Good News? The Bears have played well against the Vikings and Lions recently. They’re 4-0 against Minnesota and Detroit in the last two seasons.
