The Chicago Bears Keep/Trade or Release: Leonard Floyd

The Chicago Bears have some work to do on their roster this offseason. Some players are going to stay while others go. What about Leonard Floyd? What should the team do with him this offseason?

The Chicago Bears drafted outside linebacker Leonard Floyd 9th in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. After some health problems earlier on in his career, Floyd stayed healthy and had somewhat of a positive impact on defense. However, his impact was not as strong as the team and the fans would have hoped. The Bears picked up his fifth-year option and have to decide on him. They could be stuck with him.

Or will they be?

Going into next season, Floyd’s cap number is going to be $13,222,000. That’s a lot of money for one player. If the Bears were to release him before the 1st of June, they wouldn’t suffer a cap hit. The same thing goes if they were to trade him. If they were to release him after that June 1st deadline, Chicago would not suffer a cap hit.

Imagine what an extra $13 million would do for the Bears?

But would they want to release or trade Floyd? Is he good enough that he shouldn’t be let go and the Bears should absorb his enormous contract keeping him as a Bear in 2020? Is he worth all that money?

Floyd has, in a word, underproduced. It’s easy to see that he hasn’t lived up to his first-round expectations. His start, in the league, was rough and while he’s been able to stay healthy, he just hasn’t been terribly productive. Looking at his stats up to the Dallas game (for 2019) Floyd has three sacks and 32 tackles. He has been involved in just over 80% of the defensive snaps. For an outside linebacker, that is somewhat productive and Floyd does seem to get better as time goes on.

But can the Bears really afford to keep him? What’s the best thing to do with him?

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Floyd is a good guy. He’s a hard worker and can make plays when it’s needed. But he’s not worth $13 million. No way, no how. So, what should the Bears do? You would hate to see them let him go and not pick up some kind of value in return. Perhaps a trade would work?

But what would the Bears receive in return? They aren’t going to get a first-rounder that’s for sure. Even a second-rounder is a stretch. A third or fourth-round player is more likely. But what team will want to absorb the kind of pay that Floyd comes with? That’s going to be the real kicker and might cause some teams to pass him by. But if teams can work out a lower-priced deal with Floyd that would make him easier to trade for.

The Bears could release Floyd and that would be a very real possibility thanks to his cap number. Maybe the Bears can work some magic and get that number down to a more manageable level. At any rate, the Bears have a lot of thinking to do on Floyd and what they decide to do with him.

The ideal scenario would be to work out a deal that helped spread some of that final number out over a period of time. Other than that, trading him would be the next best option. Hopefully, Chicago could get something out of a trade that is beneficial to them.

In the end, Floyd has played well but he hasn’t played “lights out” even with Khalil Mack opposite him drawing double and sometimes triple teams. Floyd is consistent but he’s not an all-star. Maybe the Bears could do better and find someone more impactful to help the team out. If not, and they want to keep Floyd, they need to restructure his deal to make it more affordable and make him easier to keep in Chicago.

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