adam

The more I think about it, the more I want another vet on the O-Line and another one on the D-Line. If we can't have success in the trenches (and some depth), it won't matter what our skill players or secondary look like.

I would love Fisher/Williams. That would make Borom a Swing Tackle. On WR, if Velus is the slot WR, then we probably have what we need. Hilton with his experience would be interesting.

Fisher makes a lot of sense with Poles connection. Is Daryl Williams (BUF OG) available too? Those two with someone like Adam Humphries, Cole Beasley, or even TY Hilton (Flus) at WR would work for me.

Yeah we have a very solid RB room, Monty, Herbert, Ebner, Evans and Blasingame as FB.

With the June 1 cap savings applied, the Bears now have over $15M in cap space. So there is a good chance they pick up a few more FAs in this class over the next few weeks. It will be interesting to see where they target. I hope they go after a RG at least.

Yeah, especially considering his age, he will be 33 this year. It did say up to $10M, so he may not hit that number. He has missed 20 games in the last 3 years, so the chances of him even playing 10-12 games is unlikely.

"RB salary hierarchy"

Yeah we can't overpay for guys like Christian Kirk and set the market for mediocre talent. We also need guys who fit the Poles/Flus mold. Those seem to be few and far between. That may be why a guy like Johnson is in the doghouse and playing with the 2s. Too many loafs.

I assume he is going to target up-and-coming guys that outplayed their rookie deals where the current teams can't pay them.

I always thought the Aaron Jones deal was terrible, especially with Dillon on the roster. Ekeler on the other hand is underpaid. He should be making $10K. For me it is going to come down to how the team views him as a leader. If he is "the guy" then I can see them paying him to help change the culture. They could easily do an extension that has no guaranteed money beyond Fields' rookie deal.

Monty is probably a top 15 RB in the league, but what is that going to cost? That is the dilemma. The RB salary hierarchy goes like this: Top 8: McCaffrey, Elliott, Kamara, Cook, Henry, Chubb, Mixon, Jones - all making between $16M - $12M per year, then drop all the way to $7.8 for Barkley at #7, $7M for Fournette and Conner. Ekeler is making $6.1M. So if you think Monty is top 10, is he top 8? Probably not. I am sure his camp is going to want something around $12M (because newer contracts will surpass his), and the Bears probably won't want to spend more than $8M (unless they believe he is an irreplaceable part in the locker room too). My biggest concern has always been his yards per carry. Career average of 3.9. That has to improve, otherwise, I don't know if he is worth over $10M per year. Last year, in the same offense, Monty had a 3.8 YPC, Herbert 4.3, and even Williams 4.1. That should be somewhat of a red flag. If he could do one thing for me, which would give him at least an extra half yard per carry is not to do the head juke on every play, even when it's not needed. What he needs to do is actually make the cut sometimes.

I could be mistaken but didn't a lot of both Shanahan's teams use a ton of RBBC?

Yeah, it is really insane. You could easily sign 2-3 Pro-Bowlers without even flinching. The window with Fields is 2023-25, then you have to start cutting some fat. However, if you sign contracts next offseason, all they need to do is have an out after 3 years which seems easier nowadays. I am hoping for some success this year with some young guys emerging, then having the ability to fill out the rest of the rosters with top picks and top tier FAs. Nelson would be awesome, but I have to believe the Colts will find a way to keep Nelson. There are currently 12 teams already over the cap for next season. The Saints are $57M over, Bucs $47M, Panthers $30M, and Browns $20M. All these teams are going to have to cut some fat next offseason just to fit under the cap. That is the perfect time for the Bears to swoop in and pick some top tier guys up.

The team is going to have no choice, they are going to have over 100M in cap space ($97M right now and $25M than the next team). Obviously some of that will go to extensions for guys like Roquan, etc, but Poles didn't eat all that dead money this year not to restock with players him and Flus want next year. I expect one or two top guys to come over via FA next offseason.

I feel like if there is going to be a surprise on offense, it is probably going to be one of the new WRs. However, after hearing about Getsy's offense, and the commitment to the run game and play-action, I think Khalil Herbert may be a breakout candidate as well. It seems like the schene fits him much better than Monty. Additionally, I could see Monty as a potential trade candidate at the deadline as they won't get any comp picks if they bring on several FAs next offseason. Thoughts?

He is another one. We are going to have a few surprise starters, impact players this year. Watch for the SAM LB position as well.

That is awesome. We basically got 2x 1st rounders in the 2nd. No WR was worth those picks that was available.

Yeah, the speed difference between Morrow and Trevathan/Ogletree/Jones is hilarious. Then you replace Gipson and Vildor with Brisker and Gordon. Those are 3 huge upgrades. Losing Goldman is addition by subtraction, and if Trevis Gipson improves from last year (7 sacks), he can easily match Mack's highest output (9 sacks) in the last 3 years. Jones is at least comparable to a normal Hicks in the middle, though a dominant Hicks was definitely better, so the D-Line is probably the biggest question mark on the defense, but I don't see it being bad. That is definitely a top 12-15 defense on paper. The offense is going to come down to O-Line and Fields. The skill position players are fine.

Yep, I like it. If Gordon and Brisker end up as good as they are playing now, this rebuild is going to be much quicker than expected. On Hoge and Jahns, they also mentioned how Jones and Pringle have looked really good so far, which is a good sign.

It is so funny to see the media so split on Fields. Some think he is already a bust and the Bears have no weapons or no O-Line, then on the flipside you hear how locked in the entire offense is and how the culture is completely different this year. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I am pretty hyped about this season on par with how I felt going into 2018. However, we have Fields now compared to Trubisky in 2018, and that is a huge difference.

I also heard Morrow is playing the Mike and making the calls, so that would put Roquan at the Will.

Some good notes. I am not worried about Johnson. I heard Dominique Robinson has been impressive in Quinn's spot, which may be why there are rumors about him being traded.

That will also open up the intermediate routes and run game.

If it is BS, and I am Roquan, I am suing for defamation. Celebs literally have to live in a bubble to stay away from stuff like this. If he did do it, he needs to be in jail and out of the league.

It is pretty remarkable, Mooney was 20th in receptions and 19th in yards as WR2 in a Matt Nagy offense that ran out 3 different QBs against a tough schedule. That makes his numbers even more impressive. 110 more yards and he is top 10 in the league. He had 1055 last year, so 1200 doesn't seem that unreasonable.