The Chicago Bears decided to give us some hope on another day of struggles with the coronavirus putting an end to sports for awhile. Ryan Pace signed Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, but what does that mean?
Did you hear about all of the major sporting events being either suspended or canceled? The NFL canceled their owner’s meeting and suspended the travel of scouts and coaches. The Chicago Bears were fed up with all of the negativity and gave Bears fans some positivity on Thursday. The team announced a three-year extension for Danny Trevathan.
Trevathan is a cornerstone piece brought in by Ryan Pace to help start changing the culture of the franchise. He is a verbal leader both on and off the field. He is well respected by teammates and even though he will be 30 during the 2020 season, he is one of the better inside linebackers in the league. In just nine games last season, Trevathan still recorded 70 tackles and a sack. Not bad for an old man.
The numbers have not been announced yet, but Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is saying one source mentioned $24 million dollars. Well, to be honest, that is more than I anticipated for Trevathan. If that number is true, it means Trevathan will average $8 million dollars per season. Seems high considering that would make him the 11th highest-paid inside linebacker per average salary. Hopefully, the rumor is wrong and it comes in closer to $5 to $6 million per season.
The real question now is how the extension causes certain dominoes to fall at other positions. First and foremost, Nick Kwiatkoski will not be on the Chicago Bears roster in 2020. There is no way that he is going to stay based on the market he is projected to have. Kwiatkoski could find himself helping the team earn another compensatory pick after 2020 similarly to Adrian Amos.
Depending on how the money plays out with the extension, the Trevathan contract could push the Chicago Bears salary cap down from $24.4 million to $16.4 million. More moves will be on the horizon, but this would likely also mean that Leonard Floyd is out the door. I just recently came to the conclusion keeping Floyd is a strong possibility even at his fifth-year option salary of $13.2 million. Now, if Ryan Pace cannot extend him at a lower price per season, I fear Floyd will be gone.
There you have it. The first few dominoes that are likely to fall.
- Danny Trevathan signs a three-year extension
- Nick Kwaitkoski is going to hit free agency
- Leonard Floyd is being cut if a contract negotiation cannot be met based on salary.
These are just the first few to start. As the free agency period progresses, more and more changes will take place. Thoughts on Trevathan over Kwiatkoski?