Following the 2021 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears look much, much different.
It was a weekend to remember for general manager Ryan Pace, who remains a hot topic of conversation amongst NFL analysts and writers. After all, he did make arguably the biggest move of the draft in moving up for Justin Fields and the rookie class, as a whole, is one of the better classes in recent memory.
Now that the draft is well enough in the rearview, it’s time for Pace and the Bears to continue hammering out their roster before training camp rolls around.
One of the things Chicago continues to work around is its financial concerns. They’ve done their best to move money around and make cuts where needed, but from here on out, any signing they make will likely be a cheaper one. If Pace was looking to add one of a few value-type signings, there are a handful of players that would fit in well. Let’s start it off at linebacker.
Value free agents available for the Chicago Bears: LB Avery Williamson
At the moment, the Bears have Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith starting at inside linebacker. Behind them are Josh Woods and Joel Iyiegbuniwe, who are better suited as special teams players.
If Chicago wanted to add an instant playmaker to play behind Smith and Trevathan, they could look at veteran Avery Williamson.
Over the years, Williamson has been a pretty underrated linebacker. He has tallied over 100 tackles in four of his six NFL seasons.
Williamson spent his first four seasons with the Tennessee Titans before he signed with the New York Jets in 2018. In 2019, Williamson suffered an ACL injury and missed the entire season. He came back strong in 2020, though, and helped the Pittsburgh Steelers’ elite defense after the Jets traded him midway through the year.
In eight games with the Steelers, Williamson made four starts and tallied 52 total tackles, including three for a loss. That gave him a total of 111 tackles in 2020, which makes it his second-highest tackle total of his career. His previous season, the 2018 campaign, saw him hit his career mark with 120 tackles.
One could argue that his past two full seasons have been his best, and the Bears would be adding an experienced linebacker who gives the team some needed depth at inside linebacker.