The Chicago Bears were indeed active following the final cuts on August 31st. Just not in the area anybody expected. After cutting 6th round pick Dazz Newsome, preseason hero Rodney Adams soon followed. Fans struggled to understand until the team made two countermoves. The first in the form of special teams standout Nsimba Webster. He was quickly followed by former 1st round pick Breshad Perriman, recently cut by the Lions.
While some were disappointed about Newsome and Adams, one seemed to think the Perriman move especially was a good one. Former Bears personnel director Greg Gabriel appeared on The No Name Football podcast with Olin Kreutz and Jason McKie. The man who helped build the 2006 Super Bowl team discussed the two moves at receiver. It sounded like he was a big advocate of the Perriman signing.
“They also brought in Perriman. He’s a former 1st round pick. I really liked him coming out. He’s a big guy with length. Lot of speed. He ran in the 4.2s at his pro day. He didn’t work out at the combine but at the Central Florida pro day, he ran twice in sub-4.3s. And he can jump too. Like a 37 or 38-inch vertical jump. So he’s got athleticism.”
This much is true.
Perriman has never lacked for explosiveness. In his career, he’s averaged 16.5 yards per catch. His talent is undeniable. So how does somebody like that end up playing for five different teams, not including Detroit? Health. The 27-year old has endured a string of frustrating injury setbacks since he entered the league in 2015. Combine that with a lot of drops early in his career? It isn’t hard to understand his difficulty staying on rosters.
That said, Perriman seems to have gotten a little more comfortable the past two years. In that time, he has 1,150 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s averaging a healthy 17.4 yards per reception. By far the best stretch of his career. He also comes into Chicago and doesn’t have to be “the guy” like he was elsewhere. That can be big for him. As to why the Bears favored him over Adams? To Gabriel, the answer is obvious.
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“They’re going with a lot of speed. Now Adams, even though he plays pretty fast, he still timed coming out 4.48. Whereas you put Perriman in, who’s bigger, and stronger, and he’s a 4.2 guy. You know that’s a big difference.”
Breshad Perriman adds to Bears’ suddenly swift WR group
Seriously though. This might be the fastest Bears receiving corps in franchise history. Perriman runs in the 4.2 range. So do newcomers Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd who arrived in the spring. That doesn’t even include Darnell Mooney who runs in the 4.3 range. This isn’t a receiving group. This is a track team.
It is pretty clear what the Bears are going for. Matt Nagy is an advocate of the big play. That has been true since he took over back in 2018. The problem is the offense just hasn’t been able to hit on enough of them the past couple of seasons. Part of it has been the inability of the quarterbacks to throw enough accurate deep balls. However, it’s also a simple case of the receivers not getting open enough down the field. Putting Breshad Perriman and three other guys who can flat out fly like that together?
It is going to stress defenses to the limit.
That doesn’t just mean the deep strikes either. Secondaries will have to respect their speed, which means giving additional cushion in the short-to-intermediate range. That is where Allen Robinson thrives. The last thing opponents want is for him, David Montgomery, and the tight ends to have more space to work with. There is a method to this restructuring of that position. Now we’ll get to see if it has the desired effect.