Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace Evolution: Safety

How has the Chicago Bears safety position evolved over the Ryan Pace era?

Ryan Pace is now entering his fourth season as the General Manager of the Chicago Bears. This gives a good chance to look into how he has shaped the roster from the one he inherited to what we will see to start the 2018 season.

We have looked at every position so far, and to cap off the series, the safety evolution.

2015:

Antrel Rolle, Adrian Amos, Chris Prosinski, Brock Vereen, Harold Jones-Quartey

In most positions. Ryan Pace came in with something to work with. A theme you may notice from these posts is that he let some of the established players make a case for sticking around in year one before slowly shaping the roster around them. At safety, he did not have much and began to add to the room immediately.

Brock Vereen was the only player from this corps that he inherited and he was not long for this roster. Antrel Rolle was obviously supposed to be one of the better signings for Pace in 2015. Rolle’s season ended after 7 weeks.

Adrian Amos was a fifth-round pick but was all of the draft capital this team spent on safety in 2015. Turned out to be a pretty decent selection, huh?

Prosinski was a veteran addition and Jones-Quartey was signed after being let go by the Arizona Cardinals. Still, he turned in more playing time than many anticipated.

2016:

Harold Jones-Quartey, Adrian Amos, Deon Bush, Chris Prosinski, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Deiondre Hall

Rolle was a miss and Vereen was not a Fangio player. Insert Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, and Deiondre’ Hall. Hall and Houston-Carson have seen the field almost exclusively as special teamers. Bush did see some starting time as a free safety.

2017:

Eddie Jackson, Adrian Amos, Quentin Demps, Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Deiondre’ Hall

Still, Pace was not nearly satisfied. The fact of the matter was he was not satisfied with Amos, or anyone behind him.

The Chicago Bears signed Quentin Demps and drafted Eddie Jackson to shake up the competition. To start the season, the team rolled with their two new acquisitions. However, Demps suffered an injury opening the door back up for Amos. Amos thrived.

The fact of the matter is that his sure tackling combined with the range of Jackson was a perfect fit. It was clear from the first game that Demps lost his job and was not getting it back.

Injuries gave the team a chance to sort out some of the back end of the roster, but the team still is walking away limited in that area.

2018:

Eddie Jackson, Adrian Amos, Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Deiondre’ Hall, Nick Orr

Nick Orr is a UDFA worth keeping an eye on. It is not like Bush, Houston-Carson or Hall have shown anything worth keeping on the roster. Bush seems to be the furthest ahead of the group, but of the other three, it will come down to special teams.

Hopefully another name can step up this season, otherwise, a late-round draft pick will likely again be spent here.

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