Examining the Chicago Bears Linebacker Hopefuls

Do you remember the last time you were stuck in an over-crowded elevator? Really over-crowded- so over-crowded that the only way to fit the last guy in was for everyone to simultaneously suck in their guts and hold their breath. This is what I imagine happens in the linebacker room at Halas Hall when it’s time for positional meetings. Pernell McPhee and Danny Trevathan are probably taking up leadership roles to make sure everyone times their breathing so they can pull the rookie, Leonard Floyd, into the room last. As it turns out, Floyd’s below average weight does come in handy. It’s just another example of Vic Fangio thinking five steps ahead of the game.

For those of you keeping score the Bears have all the linebackers. No really, ALL the linebackers! Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating, but there are currently 15 linebackers on the Bears roster. Last Wednesday the Bears signed Jarrett Grace,

an undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame. For the sake of the linebacker room’s busting support beams and cracking dry wall, the Bears released linebacker Danny Mason. Mason didn’t play one snap for the Bears last season, and his departure was not a surprise. The Chicago Bears coaching staff had seen enough of Mason to evaluate his strengths, weaknesses, and potential, so it makes sense for them to bring in a new player with potentially a higher upside. That being said, it’s a pretty safe assumption that the linebacker room won’t be this crowded once the regular season begins, and the chances for Jarrett Grace to stick on the roster results in a magic eight-ball reply of, “outlook not so good.”

The more interesting question is who else will be joining Grace in the magic eight-ball’s pronouncement of dread? If you know the answer to this question then it’s time for you to start your own psychic friends hotline because you are far more qualified than Dionne Warwick.

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However, if we attack this question from a different angle I think we can have some fun with it. Let’s take a moment to look at the linebackers who are absolute locks to make the 53-man roster. The consensus starting 4 linebackers by every major sports website are Pernell McPhee, Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman, and Lamarr Houston. This makes sense since it’s obvious that Trevathan and Freeman were brought in this past off-season to be starters. McPhee

was the top free agent signing last year by general manager Ryan Pace and was designated as a foundational player of the defense. Houston is the only one of the presumed starting four linebackers who you could make the case may not finish the season in a starting role, but nevertheless he will definitely make the roster. Leonard Floyd was the ninth overall pick in the draft, so he isn’t going anywhere. With this in mind we are at 5 locks to make the 53 man roster. And that will end our list of linebacker locks. Short list, huh? It’s also very reasonable to think that Willie Young and 4^th round draft pick Nick Kwiatkoski will also make the team. The Bears are currently in talks with Young to extend his contract, and this typically doesn’t happen if a player is on the bubble to make the roster. It’s also equally uncommon for a 4^th round pick to not make the 53 man roster. I still feel uncomfortable calling either one a lock but they are the next best thing. What’s the next best thing to a lock, a latch? Yes, Young and Kwiatkoski are latches to make the 53 man roster.

Last season the Bears kept 9 linebackers on the roster, 5 OLB’s and 4 ILB’s. We will assume that the Bears will do the same this season. If we go ahead with our logic that the Bears will keep our 5 locks and 2 latches then that means there will be 8 players battling for 2 spots. Among those 8 guys we have Christian Jones who has started 18 games over the last two years with 155 tackles during that time. You would think he would at least be a latch but let’s no forget that he was benched towards the end of last year and has recently been seen playing outside linebacker during OTA’s. This is a rather untimely position change considering the amount of competition at all linebacker spots. If Jones isn’t thought highly enough at inside linebacker to compete with Kwiatkoski, John Timu, and Jonathan Anderson for a back-up spot, how is he going to battle Floyd, Young, and Sam Acho on the outside, when he hasn’t even played the position for the past two seasons? Timu is an undrafted free agent from last year that the Bears coaching staff got a chance to evaluate a little more in depth when he started the last 3 games of the season. He’s a gutsy player who flies around the field with reckless abandon, mostly using instincts and heart to blow up plays. Unfortunately, he’s raw, and lacks elite-level ability to make the most of his instincts.

Anderson is an undersized inside linebacker at 227 lbs, who was also given the opportunity to start 3 games last season. He is the complete antithesis of Timu in that he has very clean technique but is a little lacking in instincts. You don’t see him making too many mistakes, but you also never see him making any big plays. Acho is a 6-year veteran who has started 39 games over the past 5 seasons and was re-signed in the off-season. Acho is solid against the run and has some veteran savvy that help the make him a reliable mid tier linebacker, but nothing exceptional. Then there’s Roy Robertson-Harris, the undrafted free agent out of UTEP, who is an athletic freak at 6’7, 255 lbs and runs down running backs from behind. I would love to see Robertson-Harris add 30 pounds of bulk and see what he could do at defensive end. He definitely has the frame to add more. Don Cherry, an undrafted free agent out of Villanova, is a personal favorite of mine and I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and watch his highlight reel if you haven’t already. It is just pure football entertainment goodness. Finally, we round out the group with Lamin Barrow and the aforementioned Jarrett Grace. Like I told you, the Bears have all the linebackers. The question is, which ones will be kept and just how long can the linebacker meeting room hold up to the strain of all those big bodies?