Jason Witten caught the NFL by surprise with the announcement that he would be hanging up his broadcast booth suit and returning to the Dallas Cowboys. At the age of 36, he will be once again trying to help his old team get to a Super Bowl with an added belief he will start a transition into coaching. This inevitably led to questions from Chicago Bears fans. Is there any former players from this team they could bring out of retirement?
That might prove difficult since the array of great players they had were gone between 2013 and 2016. That means it’s been at least three years since any of them suited up in Chicago. The popular choice for many fans would be Matt Forte. It’s not hard to understand why. His versatility as a pass catcher makes a lot of sense in this Matt Nagy offense.
Forte is 33-years old though and he was having trouble staying healthy his final three years in the league, missing nine games with various ailments. Besides, the Bears are in a good place with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. No, Forte doesn’t really solve a problem. Instead, it’s an all-time great from the third phase they should consider giving a call.
Devin Hester could return to solve huge Chicago Bears issue at kick returner
If there is one spot that has persistently been a problem for the Bears over the past couple of years, it’s their kick returners. Cohen has handled the punt return job well, but it’s been a revolving door of disappointment at that job. Their 19.1 yards per return was dead last in the NFL with Benny Cunningham, Taquan Mizzell, and Anthony Miller taking turns being bad at it.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
It’s further proof that the job still belongs to Devin Hester. The all-time great return man left Chicago way back in 2014 and retired after the 2016 season. Yet even then he showcased that at age 34 he still had the juice when it came to the return game. He’s 36 now. There’s no denying that’s old, but he’s had two full seasons off. His body should be rejuvenated. If he’s managed to keep himself in shape, this might be worth a one-year flyer.
They certainly don’t have anybody on the roster who can challenge him, even at that age. Just imagine the crazy buzz such a move would get from Bears fans. As if they weren’t hyped up for 2019 as is.
