Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace has his fair share of critics. It almost seems like this has been the case since he took the job back in 2015. Most people expected media darling Chris Ballard to get the job given his deep Bears background. Instead, the team hatched a surprise by going with Pace, a man who understood how serious the rebuild to come was going to be.
Since then the man has endured his fair share of lumps from the media. Failing to post even a .500 season in his first three years can do that. To his credit though Pace has shown steady progress at getting better with his job. His drafting significantly improved and it seems he’s also developed a better eye for free agency as well. His hiring of Matt Nagy also demonstrates a maturation process.
Yet perhaps the most impressive work he’s done to date was the handling of cornerback Kyle Fuller. Most people recall his failure with Alshon Jeffery a year ago. The Bears allowed the star receiver to hit the open market and he freely departed Chicago to join the Eagles. It seems Pace learned a few lessons from that experience and applied them to the Fuller situation, and with excellent results.
Ryan Pace earns widespread praise for Kyle Fuller deal
Mike Sando of ESPN conducted a league-wide survey on determining which teams won or loss the 2018 free agent period. In discussing what the Bears accomplished, it became clear that a number of executives were impressed with the creative way Pace handled Fuller from start to finish.
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One exec called the Bears’ use of the transition tag for Fuller a “textbook” example of how to use the system. When they matched the Packers’ offer to Fuller, the Bears emerged with a deal that will pay him $29 million over the next two years, almost identical to what two years of transition tags would have cost. They also guaranteed much less to Fuller than Malcolm Butler commanded. Most importantly, they actually got a deal done, which would have been much tougher to do if Chicago had used the more expensive franchise tag.
“It is tough because you are still wondering whether Fuller is that guy or not, but you are kind of saying he is that guy — you tagged him,” the exec said. “The Packers obviously thought he was that guy. Do you think having a $6.5 million cap number on a corner you just transitioned is a bad thing? It is a great thing, even if you halfway like the player and are saying he is a top-20 corner instead of a top-10 corner. They minimized the guarantee at $18 million, which might be the biggest key on a player who has been hurt and has not been consistent.”
In other words, Pace kept a good player at a good value
This is the epitome of what being a good GM is all about. Simply keeping a good player in the fold is only half the battle. Keeping them at a favorable dollar amount is the real challenge. These men are saying Pace did exactly that. This goes right along with his signing of wide receiver Allen Robinson. Securing him for $14 million when the Kansas City Chiefs paid $16 million to Sammy Watkins? That’s a big win.
The winning still needs to happen before Pace can finally get his due. That said there’s no denying the man is good at his job in almost every capacity when it comes to the business side. That’s never a bad advantage.
