Chicago Bears: Eddie Goldman opts out of 2020 NFL season
Eddie Goldman is the first Chicago Bears player to opt out of 2020 season
Many names keep hitting the news as players are choosing to opt out of the 2020 NFL season. The first (and only as of now) Chicago Bears player to opt out of the season is Eddie Goldman. Goldman is a mainstay and anchor of the Chicago Bears defensive line. He may not show up in the stat book often, but he takes on bodies on the inside and frees up guys like Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack and even the inside linebackers during blitzes.
This is a big loss for the Bears as Goldman is one of the biggest names to opt out as of now. The other big name was Dont’a Hightower. Losing Goldman could only be the starting point. It seems many of the bigger men in the league are the guys opting out. This falls in line with some of the underlying concerns for higher-risk people who contract COVID-19. He may not be the only player to opt out for Chicago. New England has seen six players opt out already.
The Chicago Bears will need to count on John Jenkins to replace Eddie Goldman
From a football perspective, this could really change things for the Chicago Bears. Luckily they were able to bring back John Jenkins this offseason. Jenkins will be able to help soften the blow of losing Goldman, but do not think that Jenkins is as talented as Goldman because he is not. He will not generate pressures like Goldman does, but can stuff the run. However, he is serviceable.
In five years, Goldman has recorded 12.5 sacks. His best years was his rookie season where he generated 4.5 sacks. As a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, he is not going to generate much more than that though. In fact, Goldman is one of the most underrated defensive tackles in the league. In my opinion, he should have made a couple Pro Bowls by now.
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It will be interesting to see how Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears address the loss of Goldman. There are some free agents who could possibly fill the backup role void. I would not feel comfortable with the current undrafted free agents as the backup behind Jenkins.