The Chicago Bears put most of their focus on upgrading their pass rush this offseason. That is not a bad thing. Pairing Robert Quinn with Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks certainly does the job. Quarterbacks will have a hard time dealing with that in 2020. That said, one thing people should not forget is it might be even more important that the Bears shore up their run defense.
Now to be fair they’re already pretty good in this area. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman is a stud. Hicks is also really good too. Inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan are Pro Bowl-caliber players. They have pieces in place that will help with that job. The problem is it won’t be easy like in recent years. This due in large part to the strong running games inhabiting the NFC North.
Dalvin Cook made the Pro Bowl for Minnesota last season. Aaron Jones ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 16 touchdowns for Green Bay. Detroit drafted Georgia star De’Andre Swift in the 2nd round. Maybe the Bears should think about adding some insurance to help plug those holes. This is where the name Damon Harrison should come up.
Chicago Bears can make great use of “Snacks” if he’s willing
Harrison was recently released by the Lions after two seasons with the team. By the sound of things, this is something the big nose tackle was working towards since he was traded there by the New York Giants. He never wanted to be there and made that clear after leaving.
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“To be completely honest with you, I didn’t want to go to Detroit because of some things that I heard from some guys in the past and some guys who were there,” Harrison said. “So when I got the call that that’s where I was traded, I didn’t answer the phone for a couple hours. [Lions general manager] Bob Quinn was calling me and I didn’t pick up the phone because I was trying to figure out a way to get out of it.”
Now the 31-year old is a free agent. There’s been little to no news about where he might end up next. While the Bears do already have Goldman, is there any harm in adding Harrison as well? Of course not. Having those two mammoths would make running on the defense virtually impossible. It would merely come down to whether Harrison can stomach playing fewer snaps as a rotational backup.
He wouldn’t be expensive from the team’s perspective and he’d be an obvious upgrade over John Jenkins. Something to keep in mind as the season draws closer.
