Bears fans were pumped. Free agency figured to be the first step for their team to really make moves towards becoming a better team. Then they steadily watched one prominent name after another disappear to other cities. A.J. Bouye to Jacksonville. Ricky Wagner to Detroit. Stephon Gilmore to New England. Even Alshon Jeffery added to the woes by signing a one-year deal in Philadelphia.
Within the space of two years people had gone from praising Ryan Pace and his staff to condemning them as the worst thing since Al Capone and his gang. Really? That bad? In truth most of it was probably because fans felt lied to. The team promised big spending and they got little evidence of that. So what happened?
Nothing. In fact this is actually in line with how the Bears have operated under Pace in free agency since he took over. Namely a methodology that involved minimal spending early but a steady ramping up as time goes on. Here is a list of the most notable unrestricted free agents they signed dating back to 2015 and what days they were signed on.
2015
- Day 1: Pernell McPhee
- Day 2: Antrell Rolle and Eddie Royal
- Day 14: Jarvis Jenkins
- Day 90: Tracy Porter
2016
- Day 1: Danny Trevathan and Bobby Massie
- Day 4: Jerrell Freeman
- Day 6: Akiem Hicks
- Day 187: Eric Kush and Josh Sitton
2017
- Day 1: Mike Glennon, Quintin Demps, Dion Sims and Markus Wheaton
The mode of operation is pretty consistent. Chicago tends to strike quickly for a few names they deem important to their roster structure. Then they take their foot off the gas and let the first wave of big deals go by. Why would they do this? Generally the first wave involves the most expensive (and overpriced) contracts. For some context, keep in mind Coby Fleener got $36 million and Brock Osweiler got $72 million last year. Not every big signing on Day One is going to work out.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
