The Chicago Bears 2020 free agency plans seemed fairly straightforward. Sign Eddie Jackson to a long-term extension and then find a likely replacement for Ha Ha Clinton-Dix who is expected to leave for a bigger deal. Some people were nervous about that for understandable reasons. Clinton-Dix leaving would give the Bears questions of stability on the back end. However, those concerns could be drying up fast thanks to Deon Bush.
The former 4th round pick has easily been one of the biggest surprises of 2019. He was good throughout training camp the past month and has since carried it into the preseason. Not only has he been a strong and steady tackler, he also has delivered two interceptions. The first was a gift served up by Carolina in the opener. The second though was a feat of sheer beauty with Bush stealing the ball from a helpless tight end and taking it 92 yards for a touchdown in Indianapolis.
It was the latest evidence that a light seems to have gone on for Bush. After three relatively obscure years as a backup and special teams player, his development has suddenly reached another level. It’s also giving the Bears an option they didn’t think they had before. Maybe Bush could be their answer to losing Clinton-Dix next year.
Deon Bush won’t command near the money Clinton-Dix may
It isn’t a total surprise that Bush has improved so much. New defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano is a defensive backs specialist. Safeties are his particular position of expertise. He’s elevated many of them to career-best years in the past. Bush has always had the physical talent to be a starter in the NFL. The question was whether he could develop the discipline and mental processing needed for it. Something he didn’t show enough while at Miami.
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He’ll be a free agent in 2020 and far more affordable for the cash-strapped Bears to retain on a long-term deal than Clinton-Dix likely will be. It could be a mutually beneficial move. Bush gets a pay raise he’ll be looking for and also return to a defense he’ll know well by that point. The Bears also could end up retaining a player with his arrow pointing up. That would certainly make GM Ryan Pace happy, who loves retaining his own players.
