The Chicago Bears gave up way too soon on Trace Armstrong
Are you old enough to remember Trace Armstrong? Maybe you heard that name because he became a sports agent. If you do remember him as a football player, he was one of the better defensive ends in football throughout his career.
The Chicago Bears drafted Armstrong in the first round (12th overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Armstrong racked up five sacks. He reached double-digits in his second year when he sacked the quarterback 10 times. In his six seasons with the Bears, Trace Armstrong finished with 42 sacks. That's an average of seven sacks per year. He also had seven forced fumbles during that time.
Trace Armstrong wasn't retained and moved on to play for the Miami Dolphins in 1995. Despite being 30, Armstrong finished with 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He followed that up with 12 sacks the following year and three forced fumbles. Trace Armstrong played six years in Miami and racked up 56.5 sacks. His best year of his career came when he was 35 years old. He led the league with seven forced fumbles and 16.5 sacks. Armstrong lasted three more years playing with the Raiders and still got to the quarterback a total of 7.5 times. Needless to say, the Bears passed on him too soon.