Leonard Floyd will be a Chicago Bears for at least two more seasons.
Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy met the Chicago media on Monday and addressed several topics.
The Bears finished with a fantastic 12-4 record thanks in large part to the performance of their defense.
Former first round pick Leonard Floyd got off to a slow start (perhaps due to his hand injury that forced him to play with a club) but came on strong at the end and continually proved his talent and ability throughout the second half of the season.
Today, Pace and Nagy recognized his contributions to the team by stating that they will pick up the fifth-year option on the Bears’ outside linebacker.
#Bears GM Ryan Pace "Our plan is to pick up that 5th year option" when talking about OLB Leonard Floyd. There you have it.
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) January 14, 2019
After missing 10 games during his first two seasons, Floyd’s slow start was met with plenty of criticism. The “bust” word was being floated around and because of that, Ryan Pace’s draft record was also being questioned.
After Floyd’s club was removed, his play jumped significantly and his play over the last half of the season was tremendous. In just a couple of months, Floyd went from potential bust to an important piece of the Bears’ defense moving forward.
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
It will be curious what the Bears’ plan to do with Floyd moving forward. Floyd will enter next season earning approximately $5 million but his price tag will jump in 2020 in the option year. Floyd’s salary will increase to $13 million.
The Bears don’t have substantial salary cap space over the next couple of seasons, so it will be curious to see after next year if they plan to play out Floyd’s option year at $13 million and decide what to do with him prior to free agency or they could potentially extend him prior to 2020 and lessen his cap hit entering that season.
This offseason the Bears plan will be to keep their key free agents and make a couple of additions to give them a boost for next season, but eventually, the Bears will have to make tough choices with who to keep and who to let walk via free agency.
The Bears may have a tough decision to make with Floyd eventually, but for now, Bears’ fans can be confident that he will be contributing to the Bears’ defense for at least two more seasons.