Chicago Bears Sign Safety Antrel Rolle

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears have signed S Antrel Rolle for 3-years, $11.25M with just $5M guaranteed.

It appears that the Bears have finally decided to spend some money on the safety position. Former Bears GM Phil Emery stubbornly refused to see the importance of the safety position despite the NFL transitioning into a pass-first league. Emery’s reluctance to spend resources on the safety position has left the Bears with arguably the worst secondary in the league over the last two seasons.

New Bears GM Ryan Pace didn’t waste much time addressing the safety position signing veteran safety Antrel Rolle on the 2nd day of free agency. Rolle, 32, is coming off possibly the worst season of his 11 year career but made his third Pro Bowl just a season before. Pro Football Focus rated Rolle as one of the worst safeties in the league (-13.6) in 2014, but he was near the middle of the pack until a -9.6 grade over the last three weeks of the season. In 2013 PFF ranked Rolle as the 9th best safety in the NFL.

Rolle was the Giants defensive captain the last two seasons and is one of the most versatile and explosive defensive backs in the league with experience at both safety positions, as an outside corner, and a slot corner in the last four years. New Bears DC Vic Fangio prefers big, versatile safeties who can play in coverage and in the box so he can disguise his coverages better and Rolle is one of the few free agent safeties proficient at both.

He certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, Rolle posted a comparison of his stats the last four seasons compared to other free agent safeties:

Rolle has been a playmaker throughout his career regardless of position. Over the last four seasons Rolle has 13 interceptions and has averaged over 90 tackles per year. He is strong against both the run and pass and will be a vast improvement over the Bears inferior options at safety the last few seasons.