Chicago Bears: Signing Darion Clark screams desperation

The Chicago Bears continue to make offseason news despite the 2019 NFL season still in playoffs mode. The team signed an interesting prospect to a reserve/future deal on Monday, but does this scream desperation?

Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy are pulling out all the stops to find a tight end to help propel Nagy’s offense into a top unit in the NFL. Just like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles’ offenses (Andy Reid coaching tree), Nagy’s offense relies heavily on the tight end position. The Chicago Bears are making a statement here by signing a guy off the street to help.

The Chicago Bears signed Darion Clark to a reserve/future deal on Monday. Clark stands 6’7″ and 220lbs. He bounced around from three different colleges from 2012 to 2017. He played forward for Charlotte, USC and eventually finished his collegiate career at Grand Canyon. Clark’s professional basketball career clearly did not work out, but he played football (quarterback) in high school and looks to convert to a tight end in the NFL.

Does this mean that Pace and Nagy are ready to admit Adam Shaheen is not going to work out? What about Trey Burton? The tight end position was a mess for the Bears in 2019 and things are not looking great heading into 2020. Trey Burton missed most of the season and Adam Shaheen struggled to make an impact before heading to injured reserve himself.

The Bears’ best prospects at the position were J.P. Holtz, who they added off of the Redskins’ waivers, and Jesper Horsted, an undrafted free agent wide receiver converted tight end. It seems that the Chicago Bears like their project tight ends. Why not add another one here in Clark?

Not a single tight end on the Bears roster eclipsed 100 yards receiving. The closest was Holtz who finished with 91 yards on seven catches. The Bears top tight end, Trey Burton, only finished with 84 yards on 24 targets (14 receptions).

This move screams desperation. Clearly the team knows how bad their tight end group is right now. Bears fans should not count on Clark helping the team. We should just hope the Bears found a diamond in the rough. It will be a longshot for Clark to even make the 2020 roster.

Former basketball players seem to make solid tight ends though and maybe Clark can transition this offseason and make an immediate impact in 2020. This move is a low-risk, hopefully, high-reward type move. Who knows, maybe it works. Personally, I want to see more Horsted and Holtz in 2020, but I am open to the Bears finding anyone who can dominate the tight end role.