The Chicago Bears aren’t a team that’s inspiring much confidence heading into what’s a make-or-break season for GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy.
That on the heels of some less-than-inspiring moves during free agency, which included releasing two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Kyle Fuller and losing out on trading for Russell Wilson and following that up with signing veteran quarterback Andy Dalton.
The Bears took a nose dive in NFL.com‘s power rankings through free agency, where they fell six spots from 17th to 23rd. And it’s not hard to imagine why they tumbled.
Rebuffed in their efforts to land Russell Wilson in a mega-deal, the Bears now move forward at quarterback with Andy Dalton. It’s not a signing that will excite the fan base, especially those who were daydreaming about Wilson lifting the franchise out of its doldrums. The positive spin here is that Dalton represents an upgrade over Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky, and he should be able to move the offense if Allen Robinson sticks around.
While Chicago has been criticized for their poor decisions — signing Dalton and releasing Fuller and replacing him with Desmond Trufant — they’ve made some solid moves that have been on the quieter side.
The Bears re-signed some key players from last season, including kicker Cairo Santos, defensive end Mario Edwards and safeties Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson. They also added some solid depth in defensive end Angelo Blackson, outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu and running back Damien Williams.
There’s still a lot of offseason left to go, and the Bears have plenty of work ahead of them if they hope to contend for a playoff spot in 2021.
