The Chicago Bears were unlikely to maintain the status quo from 2018. Not after falling short in the playoffs. It was likely they would cut loose a player or two who may have seemed like a lock from last year. In this case, that name ended up being Jonathan Bullard. Ian Rapoport broke the news that the team had chosen to part ways with the former 3rd round pick after three seasons.
A lot of people may be shocked by this, but they shouldn’t be. Bullard came to the team with lots of potential out of Florida in 2016. His size and burst off the snap were hard to ignore. However, as time went by it became clear he lacked something. He just didn’t have the strength or motor to become the interior pass rusher many felt he could be. In the end, Bullard was relegated to a rotational role as a primary run defender.
This recent preseason likely sealed his fate. He was again invisible as a pass rusher but even his run defense failed to stand out as well. With others like Nick Williams and Jonathan Harris outperforming him on a fairly consistent basis, it became clear that his odds of surviving another year of cuts was unrealistic.
Chicago Bears learned a key lesson with Bullard
It would appear that Bullard actually taught the Bears some key lessons. While his first step and burst were nice in college, the fact he often failed to take full advantage of it suggested that he lacked the necessary motor. This played out way too often on the field. If blockers were able to hold him up on the initial burst, he didn’t have the ability to maintain momentum and would often lose steam.
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To be fair he worked hard to correct such problems, even working with former Bears defensive end Alex Brown. It looked like he improved a bit but it never played out during games aside from the occasional tackle for a loss. The Bears were able to accommodate him as a reserve for the past couple of years. That no longer became possible with others on the roster pushing for more deserved spots.
