When inside linebacker Danny Trevathan went down with a season-ending elbow injury, Nick Kwiatkoski stepped up in his absence and wound up being one of the Chicago Bears’ best defensive players in 2019.
Kwiatkoski had a career season with the Bears last year, where he started the final seven games in place of Trevathan and tallied 76 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four pass deflections.
“Our linebacker room last year, we did a great job of preparing as one like we’re all playing,” Kwiatkoski said, via The Athletic. “That helped a lot. Just going into each game week like, ‘Hey, you might be in, so let’s prepare like it.’ That’s the mindset I took all last year. And then I got the opportunity.”
Kwiatkoski’s impressive performance made him a favorite to earn a big deal in free agency. The only question was whether or not that deal would come from Chicago or someone else.
According The Athletic, Kwiatkoski was aware that the Bears weren’t going to keep both him and Danny Trevathan. But he wasn’t sure how free agency would pan out for him — whether that meant staying in Chicago or going elsewhere.
“It was a unique situation in Chicago and, honestly, I had no idea,” Kwiatkoski said. “As it came closer to free agency, it kind of played itself out and I knew I was going to have to go somewhere else.”
Ultimately, Kwiatkoski did wind up landing a big free-agent deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Raiders, which includes $13.75 million guaranteed.
