Chicago Bears Offseason Stock Watch: Isaiah Irving
What does the stock of Isaiah Irving look like heading into training camp 2019?
Isaiah Irving is a 2017 UDFA for the Chicago Bears. With the roster in poor shape, he was able to find himself on the roster, and by the later portion of the season, injuries to players such as Willie Young, and Leonard Floyd put Irving in a starting situation.
Irving started against the Philadelphia Eagles, and while he held his own, he suffered an injury that ruined his first chance at making a name for himself. Entering 2018, the question was what kind of step Irving could take, or if the limitations that made him a UDFA showed in his one chance to represent himself.
Entering training camp serious snaps were on the line. He entered a legitimate competition with Aaron Lynch and Kylie Fitts for starting snaps across from Leonard Floyd. That sentence is what led to the Khalil Mack trade.
This obviously ended any chance for Irving to take a huge step in 2018. He also failed to beat out Lynch for third rotational snaps, but did see more snaps than Fitts, and impressed in his limited role.
Entering 2019, the outside linebacker position was still a lingering need. The team obviously has big names at the top, but the depth was in supreme question, especially as they let Aaron Lynch test the market.
The Chicago Bears retained Lynch but saw little movement elsewhere at the spot. They added Chuck Harris, and Matt Betts as UDFAs, but Irving has the experience and special teams ability on them. He also has a head up on Fitts, although he should expect a jump forward in Week Two.
Still, Irving now enters year three with the same franchise as a UDFA. He is set to make the roster for the third straight season and is set to see as many as snaps as any year in his career. There is no way that you can disparage what Irving has done from UDFA status, and once again he heads into camp with his stock on the rise.