When addressing the media, Ryan Pace left the door open on the possibility of signing Kareem Hunt.
Jordan Howard had his worst season as a pro in 2018. Howard struggled to get going throughout most of the year, and while he ran better over the last few games, he never really put together a stretch of solid football.
Part of the reason for Howard’s struggles was his fit in Matt Nagy’s offense. This square peg/round hole problem was first brought up shortly after Nagy was hired but Howard, Nagy and the entire Bears’ organization continued to state that they had no concerns.
Howard worked hard in the offseason to improve his pass-catching skills, but he just never quite fit in the offense and it was clear as the season progressed that it was never going to gel the way everyone had hoped.
For the Bears’ offense to be what Nagy envisions, they need an all-purpose back that can do everything. They need someone who’s quick, but can still run between the tackles, and most importantly, they need a back that catch the football and make plays after he does.
What they need is a back like Kareem Hunt.
As it turns out, those type of backs aren’t easy to find, unless they are currently a free agent with ties to Matt Nagy. That back is, none other than Kareem Hunt.
Every football fan knows Hunt’s background, after two fantastic seasons, a video surfaced of Hunt pushing a woman to the ground and kicking her. The Kansas City Chiefs acted swiftly and released Hunt and he was placed on the Commissioner’s list while he sorts out his personal life.
With Nagy’s obvious ties to Hunt, the media asked multiple questions to Nagy and Ryan Pace during Monday’s press conference and both of them clearly left the door open to Hunt coming to Chicago.
#Bears coach Matt Nagy says he talked to former #Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt about a week ago just to find out how he was doing as a person. "I've been raised to give people a second chance, but every situation is different."
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) January 14, 2019
Asked about the possibility of signing Kareem Hunt, neither #Bears GM Ryan Pace nor coach Matt Nagy has said no.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) January 14, 2019
Matt Nagy says he talked to Kareem Hunt a week ago to see how he has been doing. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) January 14, 2019
Ryan Pace wouldn't rule out the possibility of the Bears signing Kareem Hunt. He did say: "Obviously, there are a lot of things off the field that he has to take care of."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) January 14, 2019
Pace and Nagy spoke about Hunt for approximately five minutes during their press conference and those tweets give you an idea of how that conversation went. They were very careful with their words.
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
They never once said they would look into signing Hunt, but they certainly didn’t close the door. The Bears will carefully monitor the situation and if Hunt does the right things, gets his life in order and gets reinstated by Roger Goodell (and that will happen, it’s just a question of when), there’s a strong possibility that Hunt will be a member of the Chicago Bears.
The Bears’ are a perfect landing spot for Hunt. A young up and coming team that could use his services and his former offensive coordinator is the head coach.
If the Bears do sign Hunt, that will be met with a lot of criticism and controversy but when you could be on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl, sometimes teams make tough decisions that may not be popular with everyone, but in the end, they result in a Lombardi Trophy.
Hunt is the type of talented but controversial figure that could do just that.