If you were watching the Chicago Bears game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, you may have seen the horrifying injury that Danny Trevathan suffered. With him out for an extended period of time and his being a free agent at the end of the season, will he be back with the Bears in 2020?
The Chicago Bears have a lot of work to do this next offseason. They have to make some tough decisions on a lot of guys as there will be a few hitting free agency. Do they keep the guys that are going to be free agents or do they let them go? If they let them go, then they have to replace that talent.
It would be great if they could keep as many of the high quality, top tier guys as they can but that’s not going to be possible. There are a few players that they should sign and some that they should let walk.
Where does Danny Trevathan fall in this? Should he be retained or should he be let go?
Of course, a lot of the decision as to whether or not Trevathan should be retained resides in just how well he heals up from the injury that he suffered. If he can’t come back from that and be back to one hundred percent then there isn’t a need to keep him. If he’s healthy and ready to go then the Bears have a bit of thinking that they must do.
There is no doubt that Trevathan remains one of the best linebackers on the team and perhaps one of the best in NFL. He is their leader, their signal-caller and knows the defense well. Would the Bears want to give up that kind of knowledge and ability in a player and then have to teach someone else how things work on defense? They wouldn’t like doing that but they may end up having to do it.
When it comes to money, it’s kind of hard to gauge what Trevathan would want to stay in Chicago. He may want more knowing how vital he is but he’s getting up there in age (currently he is 29 years old) and may not have much left in the tank. So, it depends on what the Bears want to with an aging linebacker. He’s still got something left though and it may be worth the Bears taking a one or two-year flyer on him.
The defense is on a short timeline. It’s window, for being a championship defense, is growing tighter by the game. As more players get hurt and contracts come up for renewal, the likelihood that the Bears’ defense is going to be a strong one grows slimmer. Do they want to keep as many pieces of that championship defense intact or are they willing to rebuild a bit and let some players walk?
It would be in the Bears’ best interest to keep Trevathan around for at least two more years. If he is healthy, he’s good. He shouldn’t command a lot of money and a reasonable amount spent on him would be beneficial to the team. No sense in changing things that aren’t working. If they do decide to let him walk, then have Nick Kwiatkowski who has proven himself time and again and could be capable of being a starter.
But Kwiatkowski is a free agent too and will command more than his rookie contract gave him initially. He could also be a starter on other teams so he may want to stay only if he can be a starter. But perhaps he might not command as much money and the Bears will get someone that can start and play well. But it’s nice to have Kwiatkowski for depth. Trevathan would be the ideal starter.
It’s doubtful that the Bears can afford both of them. Consider Trevathan’s status with the Bears up in the air right now. However, if they can get him for the right price, they should sign him to a two-year deal and bring him back as their defensive signal-caller. That’s providing the arm/elbow injury is fully healed and he’s ready to go at it again.