Remember when ESPN widely lauded the Bears' offseason moves? Remember when they basically won the offseason in one day and everyone loved them? Remember when everybody that knows ball uniformly agreed that King Poles Did It Again, and we all decided to allow ESPN back into our hearts and lives?
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Take that all back (except for the King Poles part. He did, in fact, do it again.). Any goodwill any of us had for ESPN is now once again a thing of the past, nothing more than a distant memory that fades by the minute. That's because they wrote one (1) single thing that casts doubt on some of Poles' decision this offseason. I don't know where they get the audacity either.
In a recent big listicle of thoughts and questions and all things aggregate-able, ESPN asked their NFL analysts to list what they each thought was the offseason's biggest 'head-scratching' move. And, for some unknown reason, analytics guy Seth Walder decided to drag the Bears into this?
ESPN's Seth Walder does *not* understand the Grady Jarrett signing
"I will give two here because there have been so many: the Bears signing defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to a deal with $28.5 million fully guaranteed, and the Chiefs signing offensive tackle Jaylon Moore for two years, $30 million. Jarrett's numbers have been declining for years, bottoming out at a 9% pass rush win rate last season (though he was coming off an ACL tear) ... "
First of all, SETH, that's two moves; your boss specifically asked for one. If you had simply followed directions, you probably wouldn't be feeling the full wrath of Bears Twitter right now. But actions have consequences, and now you have to deal with whatever dopey thing @CalebWilliamsSZN5408_293 has to say.
And honestly? Whatever. Maybe Jarrett isn't the Pro Bowl caliber level guy he was with Atlanta, but he's certainly better than what the Bears ran out last year, and if his introductory press conference is any indication, his personality and leadership will go plenty far in terms of justifying the contract. I share Walder's concerns about Jarrett's effectiveness as a starter on a team that has serious playoff aspirations, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we're back to being mad at ESPN.