Ryan Pace is always a GM who prefers to keep his actions lowkey. He wants the Chicago Bears out of the public eye whenever possible. Let other people soak up the attention. Being under the radar has plenty of advantages. One of them is the ability to secure overlooked players on the open market. Something Pace has developed quite a reputation for over the year.
His acquisition of Mario Edwards Jr. last year was a perfect example. It doesn’t stop there though. He’s also been quite good at finding no-name players with latent ability who just need the right opportunity. Think Kevin Pierre-Louis in 2019. In fact, Pace has a fairly impressive track record of finding solid talent at the linebacker position. Has he done it again? It’s worth thinking that is possible based on his latest signing.
Second-year man Michael Pinckney.
Michael Pinckney signing with Chicago Bears, per a league source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 13, 2021
Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard the name before. Most casual NFL fans won’t have. Pinckney was an undrafted free agent signing in 2020 with the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, his rookie year never got off the ground first because of a hip injury he suffered his final year of college and then being flagged for a banned substance that resulted in a six-game suspension.
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College football fans should know him well though. Especially in Florida. Pinckney established himself as a highly productive defender at Miami from 2016 to 2019. During that time he racked up 267 tackles, 42 tackles for a loss, 14.5 sacks, and three interceptions. Though undersized and not the greatest athlete, his instincts and aggressiveness stood out quite often. Enough to where draft experts felt he could’ve been drafted if not for the injury.
Major props to Michael Pinckney (Miami LB 56) to making this tackle on AJ Dillon. Not easy to stick your head in there and make the tackle on a running back that weighs 250 pounds. pic.twitter.com/GgXSijErps
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) June 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/BillyM_91/status/1218629439661248513
Love the ability from Pinckney (#56) to go untouched on this A-gap blitz. He's quick and disrupts in the backfield. Last year, he had 68 tackles, 11 TFL and 3.5 sacks. Here's one of them pic.twitter.com/LLzePdVyjv
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) August 4, 2018
Chicago Bears created an interesting competition at ILB
With two starters already situated in Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan, the Bears decided to place their focus on filling out backup slots behind them. Joel Iyiegbuniwe and Josh Woods aren’t going to have their spots handed to them this year. Since March the team has now added three new faces to the mix. First was longtime veteran Christian Jones, a former Bears undrafted free agent who’d spent the past few years in Detroit. Then came undrafted rookie Caleb Johnson out of Houston Baptist.
Pinckney represents the seven inside linebacker on the roster and perhaps the most interesting. It’s clear from watching the tape that he has some ability. He was experienced and battle-tested after four years in the ACC. His style of play fits what this Chicago Bears scheme prefers with the instincts and downhill mentality while not being a complete liability in coverage. He will attend their rookie minicamps that start on Friday, May 14th.
This will be a name worth watching.
While nobody can say he’ll ascend to being a starter somebody, he has enough going for him that he could end up a capable reserve who contributes on special teams. No doubt he comes in with something to prove after what happened last year. He’ll be eager to show the coaches that he’s prepared to do whatever is necessary to get back on that field.