The Chicago Bears need help on their defensive line. It was easily the weakest unit on the roster, and they knew it. With the trades of Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack, the team cleared up cap space and got some draft equity back. Still, now they need two starting edge rushers.
Should the Chicago Bears sign Frank Clark?
The Kansas City Chiefs recently released Frank Clark, making him a free agent right away. Considering the team has a need, and Ryan Poles happens to come from Kansas City, the two could make a fit. Should the Chicago Bears pursue this?
The obvious answer is yes. He is flat-out better than what they have and no one can argue for Trevis Gipson over him, even when you factor in cost. Still, the more complex debate gets into whether this is the type of player they want to add to the roster.
The first issue with Clark is that he will be turning 30 this season. That is not the end of his football-playing world, but it does mean that we may have seen the best days of him. The bigger issue may be that when he is at his best, he is a high-quality player. We just do not see that nearly enough.
Clark is getting a reputation as a big-game player for his playoff performances. That helps the reputation, but his week-in and week-out production is not very strong.
For example, Clark has 10.5 sacks in 12 playoff games for the Chiefs. Clark has 25.5 sacks in 55 regular season games. That goes from 0.87 sacks per game to 0.46. It is pretty obvious that he can turn it up but saves it for the playoffs.
The Chicago Bears are not the team to add Frank Clark. When you are a winning team with a strong culture, he can put you over the edge. On a rebuilding team, he is not who you want the younger guys emulating and looking to as someone who will inspire change.
If anything Ryan Poles being so close to Frank Clark on the Chiefs will have him realize that maybe in a year or two when the roster is turned around, they can revisit the idea. However, the roster right now is not ready for Frank Clark in the way that the Chiefs can live through his lulls, and feed off of his big playoff games.