Ryan Pace is a man of consistency at least. He said from the moment he took over as Chicago Bears GM his goal is to reach a point where he can focus the teams’ money towards rewarding their own players. He hasn’t reached that situation entirely yet, but he’s done a great job of upholding that promise. Several players he’s brought aboard since 2015 were rewarded for their efforts with lucrative extensions. Cornerback Prince Amukamara became the latest.
Chicago signed the veteran former first round pick in 2017, the lone bright spot of an otherwise awful free agent class. Amukamara became arguably their best cover corner, even more so than Kyle Fuller. Teams just didn’t throw his direction too often. When they did they tended to either not complete it or regret it.
Look at how lazy this route was from KB lol Amukamara had leverage on him the entire way. He’s in better position than KB pic.twitter.com/kJeZtIMDmw
— LeOusmane DeMessi Barça 21-6-0 (@ChrisCreacy) October 22, 2017
It didn’t show up on the stat sheet (zero interceptions) but Amukamara showed enough that the Bears felt comfortable giving him a new three-year deal at $9 million per season. It was another reminder to him and others that if they did their jobs, they’d be rewarded for it. Amukamara wasn’t the only one making an impression on Chicago though. It seems they made one on him too.
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Prince Amukamara didn’t even consider going to another team
Odds are at 28-years old Amukamara had solid options when he became a free agent. Quality cover corners are always in demand. However, it seems he had zero plans to shop himself on the open market. He explained during the team press conference introducing the free agents that it was Chicago or bust.
Prince Amukamara: "I told my agent that Chicago was where I wanted to be and I didn’t want to hear from any other teams.” #Bears
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) March 15, 2018
Clearly, Amukamara is taken with the Bears’ scheme under Vic Fangio. The corner reiterated how impressed he is with the veteran defensive coordinator and that Fangio was a big reason Amukamara committed to staying. Another reason? Getting a chance to continue pairing with Fuller, whom he’s become a big fan of in the past year.
Prince Amukamara on Kyle Fuller and how they complement each other in the Bears’ secondary pic.twitter.com/ZAZkrrFIhE
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) March 15, 2018
Together with the return of Bryce Callahan at nickel, the Bears secondary appears set for 2018 aside from some depth issues to settle. If they can load up on some quality pass rushers, this defense could be just as good or even better than last year.
