Bears should Rolle the Dice

The Arizona Cardinals are expected to release free safety Antrel Rolle, who is owed a $4 million roster bonus next week and a whopping $12 mildo next season.  With Adrian Wilson already one of the highest paid safeties in the league, Rolle could be the odd man out as the Cards don’t want to spend too much on one position group.

The National Football Posts’s Matt Bowen thinks Rolle would be a great fit for the Bears.  I couldn’t agree more.  The defense has been on the decline since the Super Bowl and you could point to many reasons why, but I think it’s the lack of leadership and stability in the secondary.  The Bears have been playing musical safeties since Mike Brown started his annual trips to the Injured Reserve.

Check out Bowen’s take on the state of the safety position in Chicago and later how he thinks Rolle might fit in:

"The safety play in Chicago during the ’09 season was brutal. And, in Lovie’s Cover 2 system — outside of the Mike Backer — the safety play is monumental to the success of the defense. The Bears need a playmaker, someone who can drive down off of the numbers and get to the football. They have players, and even young Al Afalava did showcase some ability to hold down a starting gig in Chicago, but there isn’t a player on that roster that compares to Rolle…A safety with corner skills and a team in Chicago that has a desperate need for a player in the middle of the field and in their Cover 2 scheme to make plays on the football and turn this defense back into a turnover machine? It’s a perfect match.Rolle still has to officially hit the market, but the opportunity is there for the Bears to add some talent and speed to their secondary."

Last offseason Jerry Angelo traded to get Jay Cutler and stabilize the quarterback position.  (You could argue whether or not he succeeded).  This offseason, it’s time to add that “quarterback” for the defense.