Chicago Bears: Thoughts on Eddie Goldman opting out
The Chicago Bears nose tackle opts out of 2020.
The Chicago Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman chose to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season due to the COVID-19 situation. I wrote an article earlier this month on how Eddie Goldman needed to step up as a pass rusher this season to become the new Akiem Hicks.
The Chicago Bears defense struggled last season without Hicks and will now face the 2020 NFL season without their star nose tackle. Luckily for the Chicago Bears, they signed John Jenkins back this season to provide support for the reserve unit as a nose tackle and defensive end.
Eddie Goldman was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024, according to spotrac.com. The Chicago Bears shoved save around $6 million this season or more depending on how the rules will apply for players opting out of the season.
I am not happy to see any Chicago Bears opt-out of the 2020 NFL season, but I am interested to see what Chuck Pagano, Ryan Pace, and Matt Nagy do about it. I am also curious to see how much base 3-4 defense the Chicago Bears will run without him on the field.
Chuck Pagano has run a 4-3 defense in the past but is more known to run a 3-4 defense, and most NFL teams run a hybrid nickel package more nowadays than anything else. It will be exciting to see Hicks alongside Bilal Nichols and more standard pass-rushing defensive tackles instead of a more run-stopping nose tackle.
Not too many teams try to run the ball to win the game as the NFL as changed to a passing league years ago. The defensive line room is stacked with talent and potential talent on the roster, but that likely won’t stop the Chicago Bears from adding veteran or other young defensive players waiting to get a shot on a team.
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I want to see Chuck Pagano throw his hands in the air and say, “Fine, let’s switch this base defense to a two-gap 4-2-5 look and get Robert Quinn and Khalil Macks hands in the dirt.” Bilal Nichols played in that defensive scheme in college with Fighting Blue Hens. The Chicago Bears without Eddie Goldman are still set up to be able to hold gaps and get after the quarterback. It will just depend on what Chuck Pagano thinks is best.