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Free Agent Tight End Market Troubling for Chicago Bears

By Bill Zimmerman

Dec 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) reacts after making a touchdown catch against the Washington Redskins during the second half at Soldier Field. The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) reacts after making a touchdown catch against the Washington Redskins during the second half at Soldier Field. The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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The first domino fell for the tight end market on Monday night when Dwayne Allen re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Allen was an interesting tight end for a lot of teams who felt they might be able to make a run at him as an affordable (but talented) option in their passing game. Many people thought that the Colts would keep Coby Fleener (Andrew Luck’s college teammate) and let Allen walk, but Fleener’s struggles and continuing problems with drops has apparently had the Colts go in a different direction. The Colts decision to offer Allen a contract is potentially troubling to the Chicago Bears and other teams in need of a tight end.

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It’s not so much the fact that Allen re-signed with the Colts. The issue is that Allen set the tight end market at an exorbitantly high price. Colts’ GM Ryan Grigson signed Allen to a four-year deal worth $29.4 million. Allen is set to earn roughly $7.5 million per season over the next four seasons and $16 million of that is guaranteed. That is an expensive price for a player that caught 16 passes in 2015. Fleener used Allen’s price point to land a massive contract with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints inked Fleener to a 5-year, $36 million contract.

Before free agency began, multiple reports surfaced that the Bears are now shopping Martellus Bennett and would most likely cut the TE if they can’t find a trade partner. That means the Bears need to keep Zach Miller under contract (and healthy) if they are moving on from Bennett.

Miller made it clear to the Bears he was looking for a pretty sizable payday when they discussed re-signing him and at Miller’s demands ($5 million per season), they decided to let him test free agency. Originally, that price tag on Miller seemed high, but now based on Allen’s contract, that seems very attainable for Miller.

If Miller gets the contract he’s looking for and plays elsewhere in 2016, the Bears are going to have a giant void at tight end.

There are only 1 or 2 tight ends in the draft that have any chance at making any type of impact as a rookie, which means the Bears would have to go to free agency to find their next tight end.

But how much would the Bears have to spend to bring in a solid tight end? Ladarius Green might have been an option that Pace would have considered, but he’s headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers at a $20 million price tag.

With the top options off the board, the Bears could try and give a short-term deal to an aging tight end like Vernon Davis but that isn’t the type of spending Pace traditionally likes to do, especially while he’s trying to make the roster younger.

Some people have called Jared Cook a potential sleeper, but ask anyone who had covered the St Louis Rams and they will tell you that Cook’s work ethic is lacking and lazy players are not the type of individuals that Pace wants on his roster.

With Green and Fleener signed and Allen and Antonio Gates re-upped with their respective franchises, Miller became the best available free agent tight end. If teams need tight end help, they might just consider paying Miller in the $4 to $5 million price range per season. Pace will most likely not be willing to go that high and if another team is offering that much, Pace should probably let him leave.

Bennett is only making $5 million per season, while Miller’s attitude is better, it certainly isn’t worth keeping him around at the same price. While Miller looks around, the Bears are looking at other potential options. They are bringing Jermaine Gresham to Halas Hall on Friday to see if there is a potential fit. Gresham had a couple very productive seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he was in Arizona last year and despite Carson Palmer’s tremendous season, Gresham never got on the same page with Palmer and had the worst season of his career.

Dec 27, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) against the Green Bay Packers at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) against the Green Bay Packers at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bears could sign Gresham and hope he rebounds and performs closer to his 2011 and 2012 seasons where he caught 120 balls for 1333 yards and 11 touchdowns.  But Gresham slipped in 2013 and 2014 and fell even further in 2015. He may improve slightly in a new situation but catching lightning in a bottle with Gresham is slim. He would certainly come at an affordable price, but he wouldn’t make a major impact on Sundays.

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    • At this point in free agency the Bears have three options at tight end. One, cross your fingers and hope Miller doesn’t get much interest and you can bring him back for about $3 million per season. The Bears have been talking to Miller and working on contract parameters, but he is simultaneously testing the market to see what level his value is. Green landed in Pittsburgh for $5 million per season so you would think Miller could land a 3-year, $11 or $12 million deal with half guaranteed.

    Two, if Miller does leave for more dollars, Pace could swallow his pride, keep Bennett and tell him he’s going to have to play out his contract and leave it all on the field and get his payday in 2017. While Bennett would be furious, the man wants to get paid and would understand that this would be in his best interest. This may be the smartest scenario, but it’s the least likely at this point. The Bears and Bennett’s divorce seems eminent.

    Three, the Bears punt the position for 2016. This is a dangerous proposition but the Bears could bring in a cheap run blocking tight end, sign Gresham, and perhaps draft a TE to develop. That would mean Chicago would not have much of a receiving threat available at the position in 2016. After losing Forte and Bennett, this would really leave Cutler naked without a security blanket. It would be vital for Eddie Royal to have a bounce back season and become that safety valve for Cutler.

    Pace has done a nice job so far but he hasn’t addressed the tight end situation as of yet. He’s focused on higher priority needs while he let’s Miller test free agency.

    Next: Bears Schedule Meeting with Akiem Hicks

    Keeping Zach Miller has quickly become a priority. Pace is going to focus on Akiem Hicks and then potentially helping the secondary, but he needs to keep his ear to the ground on Miller. Of all people, Zach Miller has become an extremely important piece the Bears need to retain to keep their offense moving in the right direction in 2016.

    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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