Chicago Bears sign or pass: Aaron Lynch
Should the Chicago Bears re-sign Aaron Lynch, or should they let him walk in free agency?
After spending the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears, Aaron Lynch is set to be a free agent again. He signed one-year deals in both of his previous two stops but landed back in Chicago last year after testing the market.
After a two-sack 2019, it is worth wondering if the Bears are going to bring Lynch back for one more go-around.
What is the case to re-sign Aaron Lynch, and what is the case to pass? Where do you stand?
Sign
Lynch is not going to cost much. As mentioned, he saw the market last year, and it is not high for him. He is a player who has bounced around a few spots and still has some concerns from his final days in San Fransisco.
Teams are going to want to make sure he fits them, and they are not going to guarantee money to him. Lynch knows what he has here, and the Bears know what they have in Lynch. Giving him a minimal level deal should be enticing to Lynch who does not have to stress a new scheme and home, potentially for the same or less money.
Lynch had fewer sacks, but overall had more pressures per snap in 2019 than in 2018. He has not fallen off much in terms of production and should be the same player in 2020.
The Bears have limited to no edge depth and letting any names walkout over pennies at that position seems frugal. Bring back Lynch and let him compete for time once again.
Pass
Lynch played 353 snaps in 2018 and 244 in 2019. He went from playing 40% of the snaps to just 23%. The team clearly trusted him less and started to bring in Brent Urban, a player who could move inside and outside, towards the end of the season.
With Isaiah Irving and James Vaughters still on the roster, the team has cheap replaceable players on the edge. They need impact help on the edge. Lynch is not going to take a step forward and at this point is marginally better than Irving, if better at all.
Why not save the money on Lynch to try and save up for a player who can actually make a difference. 244 snaps is not the hardest thing to replace.