Ryan Pace answered plenty of questions regarding the Chicago Bears at his opening press conference in Decatur, Illinois. Most of them had to do with the usual suspects: the kicker situation, Mitch Trubisky, who’s hurt, and the rookie draft class. Most of them featured the standard answers. The kickers are deadlocked. Trubisky is more confident. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is nursing a mild knee sprain and the rookies are already pushing for reps.
Where things got a little interesting was towards the end of the press conference. Pace was talking about who’s stood out to this point in practices. Rather than give a careful answer of saying a few guys without giving a name, he went straight for the throat. There was no question in his mind that outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was setting himself apart from most of the other players on the roster in practice.
Now there will be some people who roll their eyes at this. Optimism on Floyd during an offseason isn’t something new with this team. He’s looked strong coming into a year multiple times only to have something go wrong. Usually an injury of some kind. That said, there is video evidence to back up Pace’s claim. Floyd is clearly committed to 2019 more than he has any prior year.
Chicago Bears have set the stage for Floyd’s last chance
Make no mistake. It’s not a coincidence that Floyd is working harder than ever. Time is not on his side anymore. He’s 27-years old and will be 28 before the season concludes. Everybody knows that older players tend to not get the best paydays in this league. That is why this could be the make-or-break year for him. While the Bears did pick up his 5th-year option, his hopes for a lucrative long-term deal rest on how well he plays this season.
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Thus far he’s only been able to provide flashes. He had 7.5 sacks as a rookie, 4.5 in 2017, and 4 last season with an extra in their playoff loss to Philadelphia. He played really well down the stretch, which was encouraging. However, it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point. His body has yet to make it through a full season healthy. It was concussions, then it was a torn-up knee, and then a broken hand.
The only way for this to change is if he proves it on the field. Thus he must prepare his body and mind for the struggle.
