News broke on Thursday that the Chicago Bears had reached an agreement with veteran linebacker Danny Trevathan on a three-year contract extension. While it was good news for the defense as it retains one of its best players and a vital locker room leader, it also spelled the end for Nick Kwiatkoski. Plenty of fans were hoping the team would keep the 26-year old who started coming into his own the second half of 2019.
Some might think that this move indicates the Bears already saw the writing on the wall. However, that is not the case. According to Dan Pompei of The Athletic, GM Ryan Pace and his front office apparently were quite open to bringing Kwiatkoski back. They wanted to see if they could make it work. Not a big surprise since Pace drafted the linebacker back in 2016.
Sadly, the money just never reached a common ground.
“The team initially indicated to Kwiatkoski and his representative Tyler Urban of Roc Nation Sports that they wanted him back. There were discussions. But that changed with the signing of Trevathan.
There have been indications that other teams — including the Packers — are interested.”
Nick Kwiatkoski is a victim of the NFL business
This is how things go in the modern NFL. The reality of the salary cap made it where teams wouldn’t be able to keep everybody. Sacrifices would have to be made in order to maintain financial flexibility. With the Bears having other, more pressing needs they couldn’t afford to hand a lucrative extension to Kwiatkoski. So they made the decision to retain Trevathan on what will likely be a cheaper deal. While it doesn’t give them long-term security, it keeps the position strong for the time being and buys Pace time to find another potential heir apparent down the line.
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It’s business. Not personal. Kwiatkoski understands that. He’s essentially taking the same route as Adrian Amos did last year. A young player who took advantage of his time with his first team and transforming it into a healthy payday and new career with another. It happens a lot these days. While sad to see happen from a fan perspective, it is something that is unavoidable.
If nothing else, this is a sign that Pace has done good work since he’s provided the defense with enough good players that he can’t keep all of them.
