The Chicago Bears came into the 2019 offseason with three main objectives regarding their in-house free agents. They quickly took care of the first, signing Bobby Massie to a four-year extension as their right tackle. That left two of their key pieces to the secondary in Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan.
Keeping both would obviously be the goal since each had a career year in 2018. However, sometimes that’s just not workable. The Bears don’t have a lot of cap space and it’s likely Amos and Callahan will each be seeking the best possible contracts they can get. Given the landscape of free agency, the odds are they may only be able to keep one.
It also doesn’t help that other teams seem to be lining up for a chance to sign them. Two, in particular, have emerged as clear threats to pounce if the Bears happen to let the two defensive backs reach the market, and both of them have far more money to spend.
Broncos and Jets are now direct threats for Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan
One team that became a true issue for the Bears since back in January was the Denver Broncos. The reason why is obvious. Their former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the same man who developed both Amos and Callahan, had become the new head coach there. It would make perfect sense for him to bolster that undermanned secondary with one of them. Something Amos himself admitted was an option a couple of weeks ago.
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“Obviously Denver would be a fit where I know the defense and things like that.”
It seems the Broncos aren’t alone though. According to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com, the buzz down at the scouting combine is the New York Jets are emerging as a major favorite to pursue Callahan if he becomes available.
“With Morris Claiborne and Buster Skrine set for free agency, the New York Jets may need a starting cornerback and a nickel corner. On the free-agent front, one player high on their list of potential signees is Bryce Callahan of the Chicago Bears.”
New Jets head coach Adam Gase was in Chicago in 2015 when Callahan was signed as an undrafted free agent. So he’s more familiar with his work than other coaches would be. The Jets also have a ton of salary cap space (over $100 million). So there are no illusions. They could easily offer a more lucrative deal than the Bears could hope to.
This means if GM Ryan Pace wants to keep the cornerback, he’d have to get an extension done before free agency hits in two weeks. The same goes for Amos. This isn’t impossible, but it is challenging.
