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Chicago Bears: Could Chuck Pagano recruit an old friend?

By Bill Zimmerman

BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Outside Linebacker Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Outside Linebacker Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Would Terrell Suggs make sense for the Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears are entering an offseason in a position they haven’t been in for some time: they are a good football team.

For years, Ryan Pace and the Bears have been focusing on building a roster. But now, the roster is built. The Bears are loaded with young talent at just about every position. That aspect greatly changes how the team can look at this offseason.

The Bears don’t have a lot of draft capital this year, so while Ryan Pace will probably be able to find a couple of contributors in the middle rounds, they can’t rely on getting an impact player (except maybe at running back).

If Pace is going to want to find an impact player, he’s going to have to look at free agency. Unfortunately, the Bears don’t have the type of money where they can go after a $10 million or $15 million per year player. That means the Bears can go after two types of players: underperforming younger players or aging veterans.

The fact that the Bears have young established talent, the right move here, for the first time in several offseasons, is to look at veterans. The Bears have barely looked at a free agent over the age of 27 the past few years, but that could definitely change this year.

Of all the aging veterans the Bears could bring in, the one that makes the most sense is Terrell Suggs.

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Suggs is 36-years old, but he’s coming off a season in Baltimore where he still recorded seven sacks. Suggs doesn’t stop the run like he used to, but he still knows how to get to the quarterback, and that’s something that no team can have enough of on their roster.

Suggs has stated he wants to end his career in Baltimore, but he’s also said it’s more important to him to play this year if that’s not an option. The Ravens are tight in cap space, and with the move to a young quarterback, they are also going to want to start steering the roster in a younger direction.

The Ravens also have a few key free agents as well, including CJ Mosely. Some of those players are going to have to be higher priorities for Baltimore than a 36-year old edge that can only play about 50% of the team’s snaps.

If the Ravens do decide to let Suggs test free agency, he could be an excellent veteran addition for a team. One of those teams that would be a perfect fit is the Chicago Bears.

Suggs just finished a 4-year, $20 million contract with Baltimore. At his age, Suggs is probably only looking at a 1-year deal or perhaps a 2-year deal with 1 year guaranteed. His average yearly price shouldn’t be more than about $3 or $4 million per year, which just happens to be the exact salary that Aaron Lynch made last year.

Adding Suggs to the Bears edge group could be a dynamic addition. Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd could take the lion’s share of the snaps, but new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano could use Suggs in situational pass rush situations and also create some dynamic pass rushing packages with Floyd, Suggs, Mack and Akiem Hicks all on the field at the same time.

Pagano and Suggs still maintain a good relationship, and it shouldn’t be overlooked that the year Suggs won defensive player of the year, Chuck Pagano was his defensive coordinator. Not to mention, Suggs has a tremendous personality and would fit well into the locker room vibe that Matt Nagy has created.

Signing a player like Suggs would be very different from a traditional Ryan Pace move, but the team has never been in this position entering an offseason.

The Bears are good. This is a different offseason for Ryan Pace. He’s created a great cake, but it’s time to focus on icing it. Suggs could make an excellent Bears’ pass rush even more dynamic and financially he could easily just slide in and replace Lynch.

A move like this for Pace would surprise a lot of people, but this is the offseason where we could see some different moves from Pace, and this one makes a lot of sense.

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