Chicago Bears Free Agency 2022 Stay or Go: Joel Iyiegbuniwe
Chicago Bears new General Manager will be making plenty of decisions revolving around the roster that Ryan Pace built. One Pace special was Joel Iyiegbuniwe, who is now at the end of his rookie contract.
Joel Iyiegbuniwe will enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent unless the Chicago Bears choose to re-sign him this month. Should they?
Chicago Bears should keep Joel Iyiegbuniwe
The depth at the linebacker position is extremely thin. They have to release Danny Trevathan after his age and injury history caught up with him, and Alec Ogletree is a free agent as well. It is not a bad thing to have depth, and he has always been a special team asset. For the cost, there is little risk.
Chicago Bears should let Joel Iyiegbuniwe walk in free agency
As noted, this is a Ryan Pace that Poles can move on from. Joel Iyiegbuniwe was drafted almost solely off of the idea that he was a stud on special teams. That disappointed Bears fans considering he was a fourth-round pick.
With that in mind, he arguably lived up to his reputation, because he played 56 defensive snaps In four seasons. However, for a fourth-round pick who is only drafted to play special teams, that player better be a menace.
That was not the case as Joel Iyiegbuniwe had two penalties in 2019, and finished his run in Chicago with five missed tackles on special teams.
He played on five out of the six special teams units, but no one mistook him for a top-tier special teams asset. With that in mind, if they are going to pay for special teams, DeAndre Houston-Carson has been better in every area and has been more impactful on defense.
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Joel Iyiegbuniwe was a questionable pick when the Chicago Bears made it, and he never got out of his reputation. It is better for both sides to start clean, and the team could certainly find a cheap special teams performer who could be a number four linebacker. That even maybe a UDFA addition, which is why fans were disappointed someone with that limited of an upside was drafted in the fourth round to begin with.