Chicago Bears hold tryouts for a big name free agent and three others

Chicago Bears (Photo by Nam Y. Huh-Pool/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears (Photo by Nam Y. Huh-Pool/Getty Images)
4 of 5
Chicago Bears, Alec Ogletree
Chicago Bears (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Could the Chicago Bears make a splash and sign Alec Ogletree?

Quite honestly, I was surprised to hear the Chicago Bears brought Alec Ogletree in for a tryout. Not necessarily because I thought Ogletree would have been signed by now (he would have been if not for the pandemic), but because I just did not expect the Bears to consider a name like Ogletree at inside linebacker.

Ogletree will be 29 in September. That’s still relatively young for a player of his caliber. This will be Ogletree’s eighth season in the NFL. He played six years for the Rams and two for the Giants. Shockingly, Ogletree has never made a Pro Bowl, but he did make the NFL All-Rookie team in 2013.

Over the last two seasons, Ogletree was a captain for the Giants. He played in and started 13 games each season. He racked up 80 tackles (48 solos) with four tackles for loss in 2019. In 2018 he finished with 93 tackles (58 solos) and six tackles for loss. Each year he had one sack.

Ogletree’s missed tackle rate averages out to be over 15 percent. This is not great, but I’d be okay with him as a backup behind Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith. For comparison’s sake, Trevathan had a missed tackle rate of only 4.1 percent last year and 8.9 percent in 2018. Smith had a 3.8 percent missed tackle rate in 2019 and 9.7 percent his rookie year.

Needless to say, Ogletree is more of a name at this point but does bring some great experience. I’d be okay if they sign him and I think fans would really be excited.

Schedule