Chicago Bears: 3 High-profile free agents Ryan Pace must target
Bud Dupree (OLB), Steelers
The next guy the Chicago Bears should consider adding to the roster is Bud Dupree. Dupree is another former, first-round draft pick. He went 22nd overall in 2015. Dupree will be 27 in 2020 and coming off a strong contract-year.
Dupree has 9.5 sacks on the season. This is the best sack total of his career, but what I like about Dupree is his consistency. He has had four sacks or more in every year of his career thus far. He is likely benefitting by playing on the same defense as T.J. Watt who is a menacing player to defend. He could benefit even more being a bookend with Khalil Mack.
Dupree is also projected to make around $16 million dollars per year this upcoming offseason. Again, that is only an additional $3 million that the Bears would have to pay if they swap out Floyd for Dupree. On top of his 9.5 sacks, Dupree also has four forced fumbles and 43 solo tackles. This is great production compared to Floyd who has only three sacks and 24 solo tackles. What might be worse is the fact Floyd has yet to force a single turnover this season.
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If I am Ryan Pace, I am going to heavily pursue one of these three sack specialists. If Pace is unable to sign one of them at a reasonable price, he could look at some aging veterans on shorter contracts instead. We will dive into those options another time. Until then, the main focus here for Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears is cutting ties with Leonard Floyd. That has to happen if they are serious about pushing forward towards a Super Bowl in 2020.