Leonard Floyd is injured, again, and the other pass rusher Aaron Lynch, has seemingly been battling injuries since he’s come into the league…will the Chicago Bears make a move to alleviate this problem?
As we crawl to the start of the regular season, the Chicago Bears come in with a glaring hole at one of the most important positions in football.
While it is fully expected that Leonard Floyd will be able to play week one against the division rival Green Bay Packers, he will be doing so with the use of a clubbed hand. The other potential starter, Aaron Lynch was brought to Chicago due to his anticipated productivity with Vic Fangio, however, the common cold seems as though it can take down Lynch at any minute.
When you’re facing Aaron Rodgers in week one, and also have one of the best quarterback-driven divisions in all of football, creating pressure in the pocket is pivotal.
Will the Bears make a move to bolster this position as the season nears? Here are some potential pass rushing targets that could help out in 2018:
Junior Gallete- OLB, Washington Redskins
Trading for a guy with an injury history may be the last thing a Bears’ fan may want to hear, but Junior Gallete is a savvy veteran that comes with a lot of previous production and familiarity with a 3-4 defense.
Before the 2017 season, Galette missed the previous two season due to Achilles tears. While those are both injuries deemed difficult to come back from, Galette’s perseverance saw him return to action in 2017, while playing in all 16 games.
In those 16 games, Galette was far from dominant as he only recorded 20 combined tackles and three sacks. Not a game-changing talent last year, however, it was his first time seeing the green grass in two years and he did manage to play the full season.
The 30-year-old pass rusher was in line to become a very consistent threat in this league as he combined for 22 sacks in 2013 and 2014.
Galette may not ever get back to his 2013 days but don’t tell him that as he believes he’s a better player than earlier in his career. He believes that his experiences both on and off the field, paired with being fully healthy this year, will translate to a productive 2018 season.
Because Galette is on a one-year deal that’s paying him around $800,000, throwing a seventh-rounder to the Redskins may prove to be worth the investment at an inexpensive cost.
Markus Golden-DE, Arizona Cardinals
Injuries appear to be the theme of the day as Markus Golden is coming off of a torn ACL in the previous season.
The Chicago Bears may not be able to acquire Golden at the price of say a Junior Galette due to his youth and the potential that remains.
Golden’s season may have been derailed in week four last year, but he was coming off a very productive 2016 season that saw him get to the quarterback 12.5 times as well as cause four forced fumbles with one recovery.
At 27 years old and in the final year of his rookie deal, Golden will be heavily incentivized to prove the 2016 season was nothing out of the ordinary and will lean on his good health and skill to garner a pay-day for next season.
The Arizona Cardinals may not be too keen on giving up theie 2015 second-round pick, especially because outside of Chandler Jones their pass rush is pretty underwhelming. However, as we’ve seen first-hand with the acquisition of Allen Robinson, sometimes an injury as severe as an ACL dissuades that team from keeping a good player around, maybe the Bears can make things interesting.
Alvin “Bud” Dupree-OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have picked up Dupree’s fifth-year option which will allot him around $9,000,000 in the 2019 season, but the organization is far from believing he is their future.
The 2015 first-round pick only has 14.5 sacks in his career thus far, with his 2017 being his best campaign with six. While his production has improved every season, it has not been at the rate Mike Tomlin would have expected for the linebacker from Kentucky.
At 6’2, 260 pounds and only 25 years old, a new change of scenery under the tutelage of esteemed defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, has the potential to change Dupree’s “less than stellar” start to his career.
Would trading a 2019 thrid-round pick be worth acquiring Dupree especially because the team is without a second-round pick this upcoming draft? It might be worth finding out.
Khalil Mack- OLB, Oakland Raiders
This article was simply not going to be written without tantalizing you all with the idea of Khalil Mack coming to the Windy City.
Yes, it’s hard to imagine Mack ever leaving the organization he has helped build in Oakland, but as I write this there have been no signs that lead me to believe the relationship between Mack and Oakland is close to resolving itself.
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In fact, Jared Dubin of CBS Sports exclaims Mack may miss regular season games in order to get his money.
Look, I don’t have to sit here and tell you all about what Khalil Mack could bring to this team. The man has 40.5 sacks in his four-year career and was the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year.
The only questions the Bears should have about Mack is do we have enough assets to entice Oakland to give him up? If the Bears believe they do have what it takes to land the six-time pro bowler, will they set the precedent in terms of paying a defensive player the money he desires? That’s the real question and it will be exciting to see how it plays out.