Chicago Bears Offseason Stock Watch: Eddie Goldman
Can the Chicago Bears trust on Eddie Goldman to increase his play in 2020?
Eddie Goldman has been a consistent stud for the Chicago Bears since he has been drafted. The best part of Goldman is that he will only be 26 this season. He is still just now entering his prime. Beyond that, he is signed through 2022. So, with that in mind, you would expect that the Bears are ready to see more out of Goldman in 2020.
However, that may be to the contrary. The biggest issue with Goldman is that he is mainly a nose tackle. He is a good pass rusher for a nose tackle but is a nose tackle nonetheless. Last season he posted just one sack, and averages about two per year.
He has always been a rotational player. However, it is worth noting with Matt Nagy as head coach, his playing time has seen a consistent decrease.
In 2017, with John Fox, he played 57.6% of the snaps. The following season, his first with Matt Nagy, he played 52.4%. It is fair to say that was for the best, though. He did put up career numbers next to Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack.
What was interesting was that the trend continued again in 2019. He was hurt and missed most of the final two games of the season. So, he played 43% of the snaps total. However, in the games he did play, he still played just 49% of the team’s defensive snaps.
In the games that Goldman was healthy, he played almost the exact same number of snaps as Roy-Robertson Harris.
The fact is that the depth of the defensive line is likely hurting the value that Goldman brings. RRH and even Bilal Nichols are too valuable to keep on the bench. Both are better pass rushers than Goldman.
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Eddie Goldman is signed for two more years but it is worth noting that he could be let go and save the team $6 million in 2021, and $10 million in 2022. Goldman is an awesome nose tackle, but he is just that, a part-time player in today’s NFL.