Chicago Bears Decline 5th Year Option on Kevin White

The Chicago Bears have declined the fifth-year option on Ryan Pace’s first ever draft choice.

First impressions mean a lot, but they don’t mean everything. If they did, Ryan Pace would be considered a horrible draft evaluator. But objectively, that is probably Pace’s best attribute as a GM. But if you look at how things begun for Pace, they were not great when he chose to draft West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White back in 2015.

White hasn’t been able to stay on the field at all, so it’s  no surprise that the Chicago Bears have announced that the will not pick up the option on the former first round pick.

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This was the only option for the Bears. White has played a total of five regular season games for the Bears over his three seasons and in two of those games he suffered season ending injuries. White has been a disappointment at every level. Would he have been successful if he stayed healthy? No one will ever know and it’s impossible to gauge.

If White’s option was picked up, the Bears would have owed him $14 million next season. White could have 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns and he still wouldn’t get that’s on the open market. This is almost certainly White’s last year in Chicago, and with the additions of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Bennie Fowler plus drafting two rookie wide receivers, there is no guarantee that White even makes the roster in 2017.

What does the future hold for White? Nobody knows, not even White, but his future won’t be in Chicago, that’s almost a certainty.