The Chicago Bears have been officially eliminated from the playoffs following their loss to the Packers on Sunday, and with the offseason being a few weeks away for the Bears, it’d be a good time to discuss what general manager Ryan Pace needs to do to turn this team around.
The Chicago Bears have been officially eliminated from playoff contention following their loss against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and I know it’s upsetting Bears fans, but this team is a couple of pieces away from being a legitimate super bowl contender.
With the offseason being a few weeks away for the Bears, it’s never to early to discuss what general manager Ryan Pace needs to do to turn this team around and make a super bowl run. As soon as January hits then it’s time for Pace and the Bears to get to work and start re-tooling this roster and upgrade some much-needed positions.
After this season, it will be the sixth season that Pace is in charge of the Bears and as had only one winning season with the team.
Pace is in charge of what the team does during the offseason, so that means he is in charge of figuring out what the Bears will do at the quarterback position. Whether they will stay with Mitchell Trubisky or draft a quarterback or sign one via free agency. He was the one who drafted Trubisky second overall in 2017 over Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes.
Quarterback
When Pace drafted Trubisky second overall, he was expecting him to be their “franchise” quarterback for years to come, and well it hasn’t seemed that way. After a slow start to 2019, Matt Nagy seemed to trust Trubisky a little bit more in the last couple of games and has led to success. Therefore, I truly believe that Trubisky will be the Bears starting quarterback in 2020.
Offensive Line
The offense is one of the biggest needs that this team needs. It starts with the offensive line, as I’ve stated before that Kyle Long doesn’t need to be apart of this team anymore. He’s dealt with injuries nonstop for the past four seasons, and if they cut him, they can save $8.1 million dollars. Solve the offensive line problems with drafting a couple during the draft in April.
Tight End
The tight end position is another “big” need for this team. They’ll need a complete revamp after Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen have been injured and have failed to make any sort of impact. Burton was signed by Pace for 4 years $32 million dollars and could potentially be one of the worst signings by Pace in his six years with the team.
Bears fans were expecting Pace to try and trade for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard before the trade deadline, but he failed to do so. The tight end position as managed 37 catches for 238 yards in 14 games this season, which is terrible. Jesper Horsted and J.P Holtz seem to be the cheap depth options for this team, but they still need to address it in the offseason.
Defense
They need to address a couple of things on the defensive side. Edge rusher should be a need, Khalil Mack can’t do everything by himself, as much double and triple teams Mack sees every week, they have no one to get the quarterback. They’ll also need to acquire a replacement for Prince Amukamara, who is 30 years old, and who the Bears will likely move on from this offseason. Kevin Tolliver and Duke Shelley may be possible replacements for Amukamara.
But they will likely look to add somebody of value either during the draft or free agency. If it’s during free agency, then okay. If it’s during the draft, then okay, they just need to find someone who can compete with Kyle Fuller and Buster Skrine.
Pace will also need to find a way to keep some key players around by resigning them to long term contracts. Such as Eddie Jackson and Allen Robinson who both are in line for a long term contract extension. Robinson is a must need for this team and is someone who Trubisky has trust in, and Jackson is one of the biggest parts to why this defense is still one of the best in the NFL.
In reality, Pace and the Bears have a lot of work to do this offseason if they plan on getting back to their winning ways, and potentially represent the NFC in the Superbowl. If they address what needs to be addressed during the offseason, I truly believe that this team will be successful in 2020.