The Bears100 celebration has had plenty of highlights over the past couple of days, from the unveiling of the new throwback uniforms to Mitchell Trubisky donning the classic Jim McMahon shades and headband.
But in between the alumni panels and activities, more information came out about the Bears decision to not re-sign S Adrian Amos and instead take a one-year flyer on former Packers and Redskins S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
During a panel at the event, Bears Director of Player Personnel Josh Lucas revealed the team consistently graded Clinton-Dix higher than Amos over the last four seasons, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s JJ Stankevitz.
Stankevitz then provided more context around the comments from Lucas, saying the grade shouldn’t come as a shock.
Instead of viewing Clinton-Dix as a consolation signing of some sort, the Bears believe they landed a safety better than Amos, while only committing $500,000 guaranteed compared to Amos’ $12 million he received from the Packers.
And while the initial grade makes sense considering Clinton-Dix was a former first-round pick and Amos was drafted in the fifth round, Chicago clearly believes Clinton-Dix’s arrow is pointing higher than Amos’ in 2019, money notwithstanding.
Clinton-Dix, traded from the Packers to the Redskins midseason, finished last season with 93 tackles, three interceptions, and one sack in 16 games, bouncing back after two somewhat sub-par seasons with Green Bay. Amos, meanwhile, had 59 tackles, two interceptions, and one sack in 16 games with Chicago.
Fans of both teams will get see how each safety performs against their former team, as the Bears and Packers are set to open the 2019 NFL season in Chicago on September 5.
