The Chicago Bears were not the biggest spenders in free agency. This wasn’t a great shock. They had salary cap constraints that limited the moves they could make. Still, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson felt they needed to at least make some additions to help spur the team forward. In total, they signed three players to multiyear contracts. The biggest by a comfortable margin was safety Coby Bryant. Chicago landed him on a four-year deal worth $13.33 million per year.
It was a surprise move considering many felt the Bears would focus on bringing back Kevin Byard or Jaquan Brisker. Instead, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen felt the team needed more speed and a tone-setter on the back end. Bryant checked both boxes. One thing we know is that you can always tell whether a signing is good or bad by the reactions from people in the league. Mike Sando of The Athletic got reactions from some executives on Bryant, and their responses were short and to the point.
Execs also liked safety Coby Bryant’s addition to the secondary.
“Good player — wish we could have gotten him,” an exec said of Bryant.
“Seattle wanted to keep him,” another exec said.
Coby Bryant isn’t a star, but he is a straw.
That is to say, he’s the straw that stirs the drink. His versatility and veteran leadership were apparent countless times over the past two years for the Seattle Seahawks. While they had plenty of star power on defense, his presence was the one that offenses had to account for a lot. Having somebody like that on the back end of your defense can be such a blessing. The Bears have seen it many times with Gary Fencik, Mark Carrier, Mike Brown, and Kevin Byard.
He won’t solve all of the problems on defense. One player can’t do that. What the Bears wanted with Coby Bryant was someone opponents had to game-plan around. This isn’t somebody you can just run a specific scheme against without worrying about. He is capable of playing in almost any role, be it around the line of scrimmage or patrolling the back end. This isn’t a player you can easily fool. Allen knows the value of such times from his time working with Brian Dawkins, Malcolm Jenkins, and Tyrann Mathieu.
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The trick now will be finding him a wingman.
Bryant is currently the only starter they have on the roster. Cam Lewis is penciled in as the primary option at the other spot, but he’s never been a full-time safety in his career. Most see the veteran as a good rotational defensive back who is effective as a nickel cornerback. This is why many believe the Bears will be active early in the draft, seeking safety help. They haven’t taken one in the 1st round since 1990, but experts see three clear options in that range, including Caleb Downs of Ohio State, Dillon Thieneman of Oregon, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren of Toledo.
Poles was in Kansas City when they took Eric Berry 5th overall, so he’s not inexperienced with such an idea. Much will depend on how the board falls. The Bears still need help along the defensive line and at left tackle. One would imagine those take priority in the 1st round. That said, the board can fall in any number of ways. If things line up, the team could put a talented youngster next to Bryant. That would suddenly make the Bears’ secondary more exciting than ever.
