The Chicago Bears traded Roquan Smith in a deal that had fans fired up from both angles. While the future compensation could be nice, they are losing a player who played 100% of the defensive snaps this season. How are they going to replace that?
While Nicholas Morrow has already been an every-down player next to Smith it appears as though he may be in for a role change as he starts to replace Smith himself.
Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams said they're still sorting through the linebackers, adding that it "looks like" Nicholas Morrow could be the starting "Will" linebacker. Jack Sanborn also under consideration.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) November 3, 2022
The MIKE and WILL positions are not a huge designation difference for the casual fan, as both of them will be on the field for all of the snaps in the Chicago Bears’ defense. However, the WILL position is more of a run-and-chase role, while the MIKE often holds down the middle of the field.
So, they want to get Morrow moving sideline to sideline more is what Williams is thinking. However, Williams also mentioned Jack Sanborn. Still, while you would have to assume that Sanborn is in contention for the WILL that also means that one or the other will play the MIKE.
So, as noted, this may not matter for fans. Alan Williams is deciding whether Morrow or Sanborn play the WILL or MIKE, but those two are slotted into the two starting slots, whichever role it be.
That means that both of them are going to get about 100% of the snaps. Morrow had been the green dot at the MIKE and if he is still on the field 100% of the snaps as the WILL, he will still hold the green dot duties. He will just be on the move more, while they ask Sanborn to hold things down in the middle.
Either way, any talk that Joe Thomas, Matt Adams, or the newly acquired A.J. Klein stepping into the role seems to be gone. They were always best off giving the starting job to the rookie UDFA to see if he could provide any sort of upside. Whether it is the MIKE or the WILL, expect to see Sanborn play a full share of defensive snaps.