Does the Matthew Adams signing mean the Chicago Bears won’t sign Anthony Hitchens?
It has been four days since the Chicago Bears hosted linebacker Anthony Hitchens. Hitchens came in for a visit last Thursday according to Brad Biggs. Anthony Hitchens has been discussed by a few of us already at BearGogglesOn. He has a direct connection to not only Matt Eberflus but also Ryan Poles. The fit just seems to make too much sense.
That’s right, Anthony Hitchens played for the Dallas Cowboys when Matt Eberflus was a Linebackers coach for the Cowboys. The thing is, he played middle linebacker for Eberflus. Would he reprise that role here in Chicago should he sign? That would be the question. Anthony Hitchens also played for the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, the Cowboys and the Chiefs are the only teams Hitchens has played for in his career.
Should Anthony Hitchens sign with the Chicago Bears, he would instantly be put into the main rotation. Roquan Smith has the capabilities to play both the weak-side linebacker role, the same as Darius Leonard, and the middle linebacker spot. It will be up to Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams to make the decision on which linebackers end up where.
The Chicago Bears could use Anthony Hitchens to lock up the linebacker position
Right now, the two best linebackers on the roster are Roquan Smith and free agent signing Nicholas Morrow. The team recently signed Matt Adams, another linebacker who is familiar with the new Chicago Bears head coach, Matt Eberflus. Adams played for the Colts every year of his career to this point. He was a seventh-round draft pick who knows Eberflus well, but he doesn’t have the talent to lock down a starting spot. Instead, Adams was signed to play on special teams and maybe fight for some playing time.
This means that although Adams was signed after Anthony Hitchens came into Halas Hall for a visit, it should not stop Ryan Poles from signing Hitchens. Honestly, should this move happen, I’d assume he’d take over the middle while Roquan Smith plays the weak side. While in this system Hitchens averaged 76 combined (45 solos) tackles while playing the middle linebacker spot. In his rookie year, he actually saw time as the weak-side linebacker and finished with 75 combined (59 solos) tackles.
Signing Anthony Hitchens would force Nicholas Morrow over to the strong side. The thing is, with the defense playing in the nickel more than 50% of the time, Morrow might find himself as the odd man out. This would be a great signing though in my opinion.