The Chicago Bears are built differently
The Chicago Bears are one of many teams this offseason that surprised me. I felt like I would constantly gasp and yell “what” for each cut that I saw from NFL teams this season. I don’t know if this was a record-breaking year of recent draft cuts, but it makes sense that many 2020 prospects were cut due to the nonexistent offseason from last season.
The Chicago Bears were not messing around with their roster this year. If you weren’t standing out in practice, you weren’t making that 53-man roster. The fact that Darnell Mooney and Lachavious Simmions are still on the roster shows how hard they both have worked. Players such as Riley Ridley, Thomas Graham Jr, and Dazz Newsome have a shot at the practice squad, but they failed to shine for different reasons.
Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy will be on the hot seat when it comes to the fan base. Keeping seven inside linebackers and only four cornerbacks sounds terrible on paper. Fans need to relax a bit and wait and see. (See, now the team has six inside linebackers and six cornerbacks) Mind you; I am on the fence in a negative way for this Chicago Bears team.
The final roster is not officially set until Week 1 starts. The only thing that matters would be who is on the active day roster. The Chicago Bears will win or lose based on the starter’s performances and their health. We should all be asking how these players will perform: Jason Peters, Roquan Smith, Akeim Hicks, Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, Eddie Jackson, and David Montgomery. Outside of the quarterback situation, these are the players that need to perform.
If they do well, the team will do well. The players on the roster are always more important than the X’s and O’s. Sure the scheme and how they are used is critical, but talent will always shine. I have defended Ryan Pace for a long time, and I will still defend him some more this offseason.
No general manager will keep seven off-the-ball linebackers on their team unless they value talent over the position. That is precisely what Ryan Pace did. Many were upset about the cornerbacks and wonder why they didn’t keep Artie Burns or Thomas Graham.
Would you rather keep talent on your team or fill a position with a less-than-serviceable player? Bill Belichick went against the grain and released his veteran former MVP quarterback, Cam Newton because why keep a $10 million backup on the roster? Mack Jones proved he is ready to start. Unlike other general managers, Ryan Pace is going against the grain and is keeping talented players that deserve a roster spot (for now).