There’s no sugarcoating the fact that the Chicago Bears were a bad football team in 2019. While there was a time where finishing .500 would’ve been considered a win, that’s no longer the case.
Coming off a 12-4 record, a divisional title and a playoff berth, things were looking up for the NFL’s charter franchise. Instead, what ensued was a complete fall from grace, led by Chicago’s inept offense.
There were plenty of players that contributed to the disappointment in 2019, but these six stood apart from the rest.
QB Mitchell Trubisky
There was no bigger disappointment in 2019 than quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, whose regression was a key aspect of the offensive’s decline. While he was far from the only issue on offense, he was the biggest issue. Trubisky continued to struggle with accuracy and reading defenses, and it’s fair at this point to wonder if Trubisky is going to be just another quarterback failure in Chicago.
While Trubisky had a few moments, including impressive back-to-back games against the Lions and Cowboys, ultimately he proved to not be a consistent player for the Bears. This for a player that was supposed to take the next step in Matt Nagy’s offense.
Looking ahead to 2020, Trubisky has the starting job right now. Whether that proves true down the line remains to be seen. The Bears are going to bring in veteran competition for Trubisky, and possibly a young prospect in the NFL Draft. If Trubisky struggles early next season, the Bears shouldn’t hesitate to pull the plug.
TE Trey Burton
Considering the importance of the tight end position in Matt Nagy’s offense, the failure of the entire position group was cause for concern. But there was no tight end more disappointing than Trey Burton. Burton has struggled with injuries dating back to last year’s playoff game, and it continued to be an issue this season.
Burton’s production was also limited in 2019. In eight games, he had 14 receptions for 84 yards with no scores, which was a far cry from 2018 when he had 54 receptions for 569 yards and six touchdowns. The Bears gave Burton a four-year, $32 million deal to be the Travis Kelce of Nagy’s offense, and he hasn’t been able to do that.
While the Bears are tied to Burton for 2020 — given he’d be a dead-cap hit of $7.5 million — the same can’t be said for the following season. The Bears will address the tight end position this offseason, through free agency and/or the NFL Draft. They’ve already started by bringing in new tight ends coach Clancy Barone, who has a track record with some successful tight ends.
TE Adam Shaheen
Keeping with the tight end failures, former second-round pick Adam Shaheen was another disappointment for the Bears. Shaheen has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, and it was more of the same in 2019. Similar to Burton, Shaheen had limited production with just nine catches for 74 yards and a two-point conversion in eight games.
The Bears have shown interest in tight ends from the Senior Bowl, including Brycen Hopkins, Jared Pinkney and Adam Trautman, an indication that they’re not happy with 2019’s output. Shaheen will be battling for a roster spot heading into training camp, and he could find himself on the outside looking in depending on who is brought in.
LB Leonard Floyd
Ryan Pace hasn’t had a good track record with first-round draft choices, and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd is another one of those examples. While Floyd wasn’t the biggest disappointment in 2019, he certainly isn’t living up to the billing as former No. 9 overall pick.
Floyd has shown that he can get after the quarterback, as evidenced by his career-high 12 quarterback hits in 2019. But Floyd has 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 insist that they’re happy with Floyd, although they know he can be more productive. 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. But with Floyd lining up opposite one of the game’s best in Khalil Mack, Floyd needs to take advantage of those situations and sack the quarterback.
CB Prince Amukamara
Since joining the Bears, cornerback Prince Amukamara has been a consistent player for Chicago. But like many players, Amukamara regressed in 2019. Only Amukamara’s struggles will likely be the end of his career with the Bears, given he serves to be the Bears’ top salary cap casualty this offseason.
In three seasons, Amukamara has three interceptions, all of which came in 2018. That, and blown coverages and killer penalties have cost the defense at times.
His production doesn’t warrant the $10 million he’s due to make in 2020, especially given the deep cornerback class in this year’s NFL Draft. If the Bears choose to part ways with Amukamara, they can free up $9 million in cap space.
Entire Bears offensive line
There were no shortage of struggles on the Bears offense in 2019, but one of the major areas of concern was the play of the offensive line. Given the fact that the Bears have invested a ton of money in the offensive line, you expect the production to be better than it was.
Ultimately the Bears are stuck with what they’ve got in 2020. But this will be the last season where the Bears are strapped by the massive contracts of their tackles in Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie. With Kyle Long’s retirement, the Bears will be looking for a new right guard in 2020. Maybe that comes in-house with Alex Bars or perhaps the Bears turn to the NFL Draft, where they could also look for tackles to replace Leno or Massie in the future.
