Ryan Pace continues to tinker with his team. The Chicago Bears GM has signed two more players that both have the potential to strengthen the roster. The Bears signed safety Omar Bolden from the Denver Broncos and followed that up by adding guard Ted Larsen to the roster. Both acquisitions will help each of their respective units.
While Bolden is listed as a safety, that is hardly the reason he’s been added to the roster. Don’t expect Bolden to be pushing Antrel Rolle for playing time on defense. Bolden is a fantastic special teams player and Pace has brought him in to continue to work on making that unit something special. Bolden is another guy headed to Chicago thanks to his relationship with John Fox. His deal is only for one season, but you can expect the Bears to want to keep him around if he performs as he’s expected. Not only is Bolden a very good return man, but he’s an excellent special teams defender as well. Bolden registered 27 special teams tackles over the last four seasons, that number was good enough to rank him second on the roster. He is exactly the type of addition the team needs to improve a special teams squad that improved throughout the season last year, but was atrocious early on.
More from Bear Goggles On
- Franchise tag and transition tag windows open for Chicago Bears and NFL
- How the Chicago Bears can control the running back market in 2023
- The Chicago Bears can own the city of Chicago moving forward
- Chicago Bears NFL Combine Preview: Quarterback
- 7 best free agent tackle options for Chicago Bears
Larsen is an interesting depth piece for the offensive line. Larsen has been a reliable starter at guard for the Arizona Cardinals the last two seasons but his performance has been subpar and the Cardinals went another direction. Larsen, along with recent signing Manny Ramirez, will help bolster the depth of the interior offensive line positions and both could push for starting time if Hroniss Grasu struggles (Ramirez could play center, or potentially Matt Slauson could play center and Larsen could slide into the left guard position).
Pace continues to approve that he is never comfortable with his roster and is always looking to make improvements, no matter how small. Pace never seems to rest and looks for value 365 days a year. He loves to utilize these one year deals to strengthen the roster, and these are the type of moves that can help a team withstand injuries and continue to win games when other teams collapse. These are the types of moves that don’t make headlines, but they do improve rosters.
Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him onTwitter for more news and interaction.