Meredith Out - it's official

[FlyfishingBear]

Wish him the best.  Go Bears! 

[BearFan2000]

Same here, I jumped the gun a little earlier but ended up being right.  I'm disappointed but in the grand scheme, he was an UDFA that had one good season.  I think he'll do fine in NO as long as he stays healthy.  Brees spreads the ball around a lot.  Ultimately it may have been that Pace felt he was asking too much for such a small sample size and feels he can find someone like him in the draft or other means.  

[Connorbear]

I think we need to draft and sign a FA now.  

Here are some options:  https://origin-assets.247sports.com/Bolt/Available-wideouts-Bears-can-target-if-they-lose-Cameron-Meredith-117086009

Peace

 

[BearFan2000]

Of those I wonder how much Maclin has left in the tank.  I wouldn't mind the Bears bringing back Inman, Sneed and Aiken are interesting as they've had mild success at times wouldn't hurt to bring them in for a workout to kick the tires.  What about making a play for Dez Bryant?  There seems to be a bit of an impasse in Dallas, he's not the WR he once was and he may want more money than he's worth but just a random thought if he wants out of Dallas might not hurt to see what the price tag would be.  The WR FA pool is pretty shallow at this point.  

[Mongo3451]

I'm out on free agents at this point.  We signed the number two receiver aca just lost the number four.  It also looks like 5-20 are gone.  At this point, I think we draft one.

[Connorbear]

One drafted receiver is not going to be enough.  Currently, on the roster we have:

• DeMarcus Ayers
• Josh Bellamy
• Taylor Gabriel
• Tanner Gentry
• Allan Robinson
• Kevin White
• Mekale McKay

I cannot imaging Ayers, Gentry or McKay making our opening day roster, and I do not want to see Bellamy on the offense.  So, that leaves us with Robinson, Gabriel and White.  The need two  more at least.  

Peace

 

 

[Stinger226]

They could be bringing in a FA at a vet minimum. There really is no need to be paying 5 mil to a WR that make be the 5th option in the passing cycle. 

We have Robinson that will probably be getting 80+ receptions.

Gabriel will get 50+

Burton will be getting 60+

Cohen will be getting 50+

Howard will be getting 40+

Shaheen if used properly will be 40+

Sims is still in the mix and at the least will see 30 + targets being on the field.

You have the wild card of Kevin White that everyone has wrote off but Nagy feel real comfortable with. We are paying 5+ mil, whether we use him or not.

We resigned Bellamy, more for STs than WR but will have some value in the scheme.

We have no idea what Nagy thinks of Tanner Gentry. He may think he can be our 4th or 5th WR.

AND we will be drafting one in the 4th or 5 th round to add to the mix.

So did we need Cam? Apparently Nagy did not think so, or he would be here.

 

 

[FlyfishingBear]

Sounded like it was a matter of not being comfortable with his medical situation more than not needing him.  I think the ball distribution is a little high,  especially for the TEs. Look at the top 7 pass catchers of the Chiefs last year:

Travis Kelce	83	1,038
Tyreek Hill	75	1,183
Kareem Hunt	53	455
Albert Wilson	42	554
Charcandrick West	27	150
Demarcus Robinson	21	212
Demetrius Harris	18	224

That's 2 TE with 101, 2 RBs with 80 and 3 WRs with 138.   The only others on the roster with double digit catches are also WRs- 2 WRs for 25.  

We're still going to need a solid 4th, assuming White turns out to be something.  I would assume he's not and we need two more WRs. If he is,  then that's gravy

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Meredith offered a ‘possible’ option not knowing how well he would recover from a pretty severe knee injury.  Pair that with Whites still unrecognized ability and Robinson’s unknown potential (and both having recent injury history) it’s no wonder they decided to cut ties with Meredith.  Honestly at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t consider a WR in the earlier rounds.  

I was relatively sure the Bears might consider Calvin Ridley or even Sutton out of SMU in the first few rounds before Robinson came on board.  With the recent events and the lack of high value FAs as well as the overall un-exciting WR roster still currently on the Bears, there’s a good chance they may still be in the running for one of them.  

Yes I had even started to think they may consider one of the high value Olinemen but I’m not so sure anymore.  

[Stinger226]

they will not be drafting a WR in the first two rounds. A prospect has a chance to grow in our O. scheme. 

I think I am spot on in the first 4 spots, the rest are question marks as to how much they will be used. I think Burton and Cohen will be playing a lot of slot position. Howard , Shaheen , and Sims will have big question marks. Depends on volume of offensive plays will be able to perform. I think early in the year it will take time to jell, but from 5th game on, we have the chance to be a top5 O.  Remember I am a optimist, so probably will be less for my expectations.

[Connorbear]

I absolutely take Nelson if he is there at 8.  He is a generational player.  No way do I take a receiver in the 1st unless I am trading down. 

Peace

 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I’m very disappointed. This was mismanaged. Meredith has a chance to be a good receiver and we aren’t going to get to make that evaluation. Thought the same thing with Jeffrey a year ago and the whole Gould fiasco. 

[Stinger226]

Again I mention, this was not Paces decision on Cam. If Nagy wanted Cam he would be here right now. Because our WRs were so lousy last year, we put him on a pedestal. I hope he does well in the future, but their are several risks for someone that had one average season for a #2-#3 WR. I want him just for better depth, but they have a plan and because they are not sharing it with us  does not mean it is a bad plan.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

19 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

I’m very disappointed. This was mismanaged. Meredith has a chance to be a good receiver and we aren’t going to get to make that evaluation. Thought the same thing with Jeffrey a year ago and the whole Gould fiasco. 

I’m with you on the Jeffery and Gould part; not as much with Meredith.  With the host of other WRs with recent injury history having a third on the roster would be difficult to justify. And that he had a contract up made the choice a little easier. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

40 minutes ago, Connorbear said:

I absolutely take Nelson if he is there at 8.  He is a generational player.  No way do I take a receiver in the 1st unless I am trading down. 

Peace

 

Meh.  You could theoreticllay sign former 1st round picks (and current FAs) linemen in Luke Joekel or Greg Robinson and still plug the line with decent Olinemen.  I’ll stand by my belief that skill players, over time, have higher value.  In this type offense I’d see that intensified.  Especially given the current state of the WR stable.  But then again, Pace really hasn’t stuck with conventional wisdom when drafting players either so there is that.  

Speaking of FAs.  There’s still another batch due to hit the market come post draft so we shouldn’t give up on a quality player (oline or we) still being available in the future.  It was a similar situation by how Josh Sitton came to us.  

 

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I wanted to keep him since the Bears have 24 million in cap yet. It comes down to his injury imo and how much he sees the field for that 5.4m guarantee. Nagy will have to be creative to get the personal we have on the field as it is. I believe it will be mainly 2 TE sets.  Robinson WR, Burton TE, Leno LT, Kush LG, Whitehair C, Long RG, Massie RT, Sims TE, Gabriel WR, Trubisky QB, and Howard RB.   Rotation group A: Shaheen TE, Cohen RB, White WR.  Group B: Brown TE, Cunningham RB, Rookie WR. 

[BearFan PHX]

28 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

Again I mention, this was not Paces decision on Cam. If Nagy wanted Cam he would be here right now. Because our WRs were so lousy last year, we put him on a pedestal. I hope he does well in the future, but their are several risks for someone that had one average season for a #2-#3 WR. I want him just for better depth, but they have a plan and because they are not sharing it with us  does not mean it is a bad plan.

YES. We evaluated him vs. what we are used to.

we might have even wanted him for a long term deal, but not for 2 years and then he leaves right when the window is open.

[madlithuanian]

It's only disappointing because it took so long! 

Had we said no at the get go, no one would be that disappointed I feel.  When you have weeks to mull over the whole thing, it allows many storylines to start germinating. 

 

I personally was hoping we'd sign him, but I'm not that disappointed.  He had potential.  But, maybe we have another set of guys we hope can play, and Pace is eyeing someone more reliable in FA.  Or maybe, he sees a draft prospect he really wants.  

 

Compared to last year...we are simply significantly stronger at the receiving position Cam or no Cam. 

 

[AZ54]

2 hours ago, madlithuanian said:

It's only disappointing because it took so long! 

Had we said no at the get go, no one would be that disappointed I feel.  When you have weeks to mull over the whole thing, it allows many storylines to start germinating. 

 

I personally was hoping we'd sign him, but I'm not that disappointed.  He had potential.  But, maybe we have another set of guys we hope can play, and Pace is eyeing someone more reliable in FA.  Or maybe, he sees a draft prospect he really wants.  

 

Compared to last year...we are simply significantly stronger at the receiving position Cam or no Cam. 

I liked Cam and was hoping, even expecting we'd match.  I think he has the potential to be a solid #2 WR.  I don't know his medical status and his availability for this season although I expected it would be no problem.  In the course of the 5 days I expect Pace was in touch with agents for some of the FA WRs who are still out there and he has a good idea who he can bring in for depth and for how much money.  He might have to wait a bit for their money to come down to match his price.   Perhaps now that he's got his draft board put together he's confident he can find similar performance for a lot less money.   When I say similar performance we have to keep in mind two things:  New scheme and Meredith's fit  and 2)  His injury recovery prospects.  I can't speak to either but Nagy has. 

Look at a few of the projected WR names available in Rds 4-6:

Trequan Smith, Simmie Cobbs Jr.,  Allen Lazard, JMon Moore,  Deontay Burnett,   Daurice Fountain, Jaleel Scott,  Auden Tate

Adding someone like Deontay Burnett would pair well with the speed we already have on the roster.  

[Stinger226]

I think what Nagy still needs in the WR corp is more speed. Gabriel is the only true speed guy they have. Cohen is a 4.42 guy but we need depth. In the slot you will be seeing Burton and Cohen a lot, so I think we need more of an outside backup guy. White cant be relied on but he is the perfect match for what we need. I lie Burnett, Moore and also Cedric Wilson from Boise State.

[AZ54]

I will say this about Pace's decision on Meredith.  With the original round tender he bought himself an extra month of time to evaluate his recovery from the knee injury.  Maybe the signing of Gabriel should have been the clear signal of concerns about Meredith?   To me it seemed more logical to bank on Meredith with Robinson and grab a fast slot WR type in the draft, which are easier to come by in the later rounds. 

With that tender he managed to hang onto Meredith long enough to get him back at Halas Hall with the Bears trainers for several days of work.  I think at the end of the day that evaluation had to play a big part of the decision.   

If the injury concern was so high early on they could have simply left Meredith as an unrestricted FA and not even bothered with the $2mil tender.  Technically the Bears could still have matched any offer Meredith received, it just wouldn't guarantee he'd stay.  Pace hedged his bet with low enough risk and got some extra time to get more data on his recovery. 

I'll be watching Cam's numbers this season to see if he was right.    

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, AZ54 said:

I will say this about Pace's decision on Meredith.  With the original round tender he bought himself an extra month of time to evaluate his recovery from the knee injury.  Maybe the signing of Gabriel should have been the clear signal of concerns about Meredith?   To me it seemed more logical to bank on Meredith with Robinson and grab a fast slot WR type in the draft, which are easier to come by in the later rounds. 

With that tender he managed to hang onto Meredith long enough to get him back at Halas Hall with the Bears trainers for several days of work.  I think at the end of the day that evaluation had to play a big part of the decision.   

If the injury concern was so high early on they could have simply left Meredith as an unrestricted FA and not even bothered with the $2mil tender.  Technically the Bears could still have matched any offer Meredith received, it just wouldn't guarantee he'd stay.  Pace hedged his bet with low enough risk and got some extra time to get more data on his recovery. 

I'll be watching Cam's numbers this season to see if he was right.    

good analysis regarding the extra trainer days. Hadnt seen that anywhere. This board, and you in particular, rock.

[Stinger226]

I think it come down to a questionable medical, how much do you want to pay the 5th pass catching option, and wanting more of a speedy wideout.

Robinson- Burton-Gabriel-Cohen----? Then still have Shaheen and Howard that will get some targets.

[adam]

AZ is spot on.

If we weren't sure about his medical,  why tender him at all?  If we didn't know his medical status but wouldn't mind keeping him,  why not give him a 2nd round tender so we get something for him if tendered for only a million more?  This was clearly a tactic to see how he was progressing and when the Saints tendered him,  that made the decision easy. I liked Meredith but he clearly was not what Nagy was looking for in a WR2/3 option, especially if he misses any of the offseason with a new QB and scheme (Meredith never caught a single regular season pass from Tru). 

 

[AZ54]

On 4/13/2018 at 7:06 PM, adam said:

AZ is spot on.

If we weren't sure about his medical,  why tender him at all?  If we didn't know his medical status but wouldn't mind keeping him,  why not give him a 2nd round tender so we get something for him if tendered for only a million more?  This was clearly a tactic to see how he was progressing and when the Saints tendered him,  that made the decision easy. I liked Meredith but he clearly was not what Nagy was looking for in a WR2/3 option, especially if he misses any of the offseason with a new QB and scheme (Meredith never caught a single regular season pass from Tru). 

 

I think it did come down in part to Meredith's ability to be ready for training camp.  We have an entirely new offense and he's still relatively new the WR role.  Then you have Meredith saying  he thinks he'll  be ready for training camp (paraphrasing what I've read).   If he can't practice this offseason or in training camp how much will he really contribute during the season?    It's really hard to play catch up with such a limited practice schedule during the regular season unless you already know the offense.