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Could CB Janoris Jenkins be headed to Chicago Bears?

By Bill Zimmerman

Nov 15, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins (21) takes up his position against Chicago Bears wide receiver Josh Bellamy (11) during a game at the Edward Jones Dome. The Bears won the game 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 15, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins (21) takes up his position against Chicago Bears wide receiver Josh Bellamy (11) during a game at the Edward Jones Dome. The Bears won the game 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tuesday was the deadline for NFL teams to submit franchise tags to the league. We learned on Monday that the Chicago Bears officially put the franchise tag on Alshon Jeffery. Plenty of teams followed suit today before the deadline came down, but what was interesting is what came out of Los Angeles with the Rams.

The Rams chose to put the franchise tag on Trumaine Johnson, leaving Janoris Jenkins available to hit free agency next week. Both corners are elite talents and the Rams certainly wanted to keep both of them, but after negotiating with each of them over the last couple months, it became clear to the Rams that Johnson was more valuable to keep on the team. This did not make Jenkins happy who took to twitter.

The reason for the decision isn’t certain. It may be that the Rams felt they could sign Johnson to a long term deal for a little less money and thus give him more value. It also might be that Jenkins, who had some legal trouble at the University of Florida, may have been too much of a risk to lock down to a long-term deal. The Rams did put in some things in place to help address any potential character issues and to the Rams and, more importantly, Jenkins credit, he has kept his nose clean at the NFL level and may have potentially put those issues behind him. Not many teams like to see tweets like this when they potentially want to sign a player, but angry tweets are not the worst thing that teams have to deal with compared to some of the legal troubles some players find themselves dealing with these days.

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This brings us to the Chicago Bears. The Bears have money to spend this offseason. They can lockdown Alshon Jeffery to a long term deal and sign 2 or 3 impact free agents. Ryan Pace has been careful thus far and doesn’t want to overspend for anyone, but he does want to add youth and talent and Jenkins fits both those categories.

It will be curious to see what Pace thinks of Jenkins’ character issues. That’s something Pace doesn’t want to have in his locker room which is why Brandon Marshall and Jeremiah Ratliff were shown the door, but Jenkins hasn’t had any issues for four years, so perhaps Pace feels that those issues are behind Jenkins and he’s worth an investment.

Jenkins is the type of shutdown cornerback that the Bears desperately need on defense. They have some young pieces in place but they definitely need help in the secondary. Tracy Porter had a very nice season for the Bears last year and was a pleasant surprise, but when your team has to rely on Tracy Porter to help your secondary, that’s all you need to know about your defensive back situation.

How the Bears handle free agency this offseason will be very interesting. We know how Ryan Pace wants to spend his money, but with a growing salary cap and space available, he could go out and spend major dollars on a couple free agents and Jenkins is the exact type of player that could make a significant impact for the Bears on Sunday.

The ball (and the dollars) is in Pace’s court, what he wants to do with it will be fascinating to watch next week.

Next: Five Worst Trades in Chicago Bears History

Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.

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