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Jake Arrieta Turned Down A LOT MORE Guaranteed Money From The Cubs Before Signing With Phillies

By
Aldo Soto
-
Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs

I always loved Jake Arrieta’s attitude when he was with the Chicago Cubs. He may not have had the best stuff, but he was definitely the most confident pitcher on the mound. He was a beast and now Arrieta’s saying why he didn’t come back to Chicago.

When it came to giving a new contract to a starting pitcher this offseason, the Cubs chose Yu Darvish. However, Arrieta confirms that Theo Epstein did call him and offered a deal, but it wasn’t good enough and the conditions weren’t acceptable, Arrieta said.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times had the exclusive on Tuesday and in his story he got Arrieta to shed more light on what happened this past offseason between him and the Cubs front office.

At the end, Arrieta turned down a six-year contract worth $120 million from the Cubs and he signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that will pay him a guaranteed $75 million.

Here’s Arrieta on why he said no to the Cubs.

Via the Chicago Sun-Times.

“He called literally the night before Darvish signed and said, ‘Here’s the offer, take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, we’re going to try to sign Darvish as soon as possible.’ ”

Six years, $120 million. Take it or leave it.

The next day, the Cubs and Darvish closed on a six-year, $126 million contract. 

It was the defining moment of the Cubs’ offseason and the final word in the defining chapter of Arrieta’s baseball life.

“Theo’s great at what he does, he really is,” Arrieta said recently from his corner spot in a quiet Phillies clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

“But they weren’t willing to negotiate at all, and that wasn’t acceptable for me. I bet on myself just like I have my entire career and ended up getting a good deal.”

The Cubs offer would have given Arrieta an average annual salary of $20 million, while the deal he signed with the Phillies could end up being worth $135 million over five years.

If Arrieta gets all his incentives, he’ll get an average of $27 million per season on average. Philadelphia has team options for 2021 and 2022 worth $20 million guaranteed per year.

Arrieta gets $30 million this year, $25 million in 2019 and $20 million in 2020. Arrieta has the right to terminate the deal after the 2019 season and become a free agent again, but the Phillies can void that right if they exercise club options for 2021 and 2022 at $20 million annually.

The price of both options can increase by up to $5 million based on starts in both 2018 and 2019: $1 million for 25 each year, and $500,000 each for 27, 29 and 31.

The option prices would increase to $28 million if he is among the top five in Cy Young Award voting in 2018 or 2019, and to $30 million if he is among the top three in either year.

So yes, Arrieta bet on himself and so far he’s looked great, posting a 3.49 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in his first five starts with the Phillies.

At the end of the day, though, sure the Cubs offered him less than what he was looking for, but Arrieta literally had no offers from any other team and Epstein called with $120 million guaranteed.

I do get where Arrieta feels maybe undervalued, especially after his incredible 4.5 years with the Cubs, but is $120 million over six years that insulting?

Anyway, Arrieta said he doesn’t have any hard feelings and he still has the same confidence that made so many Cubs fans fall in love with his allure.

“There’s not many like me. That’s just how it is, man,” said Arrieta, whose 2015 Cy Young season ranks among the best for any pitcher in history. “I view myself as very different than most. I’m not saying I have the best stuff or I’m the best pitcher or I have the best command. But just what I do is pretty unique to me. The whole thing.

“I don’t care what the situation is, I bet on myself to get the job done.”

The Cubs could face Arrieta, as they play against the Phillies for the first time in 2018 at Wrigley Field in early June.

Arrieta goes into more detail about his offseason and the lack of contact with the Cubs as well. Read that here.

Someone Else May Be Guilty of Letting Cameron Meredith Get Away

By
Erik Lambert
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cameron meredith

One of the few moments during this 2018 off-season that saw GM Ryan Pace get criticized was when he permitted wide receiver Cameron Meredith to get away. The fourth-year receiver was a restricted free agent coming off a knee injury. Pace had brought him in as an undrafted kid from Illinois State in 2015. The health concern didn’t seem to bother the New Orleans Saints, who offered him a two-year, $9.5 million deal.

Most felt that was chump change. The Bears had plenty of cap space. Meredith was Pace’s guy. It seemed like a foregone conclusion Chicago would match it. Five days came and went without a word. At last the announcement came that the Bears would not match the offer. Meredith would be a Saint. It stunned a lot of people. Why do that? There was little downside to matching the offer. Meredith looked like an emerging stud at the end of 2016.

Pace’s response to the question was short and concise.

It was a fair answer. There were legitimate concerns about Meredith’s knee. It hadn’t been a “textbook” ACL tear. The MCL was damaged too. Yet if it was that bad, why did not just the Saints but the Ravens make offers to him? Something didn’t add up.

Cameron Meredith decision may have come from higher up

Pace’s refusal to go deep on the matter wasn’t a surprise. He doesn’t like to let such things linger too long. Still, for him to let one of his best discoveries go like that was odd. That is unless it wasn’t his call. A source reached out to me stating that the decision to move on from Meredith didn’t come from Pace, but from Ted Phillips.

“Phillips was the driving force to get the Bears not to match Cam Meredith’s offer.”

Of all the things for Phillips to meddle in, this seems somewhat confusing. Why? One can only speculate given the tightly controlled details. It’s important to remember that Phillips is the Bears’ money man. Prior to the situation with Meredith, the Bears had handed $68 million in new contracts to wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel.

It’s quite possible Phillips had no desire to fork over another $9.5 million to Meredith, especially with that uncertain knee. Regardless, the decision set off a chain reaction of events. Bennie Fowler and Marlon Brown were swiftly signed in free agency. Then the Bears traded up in the draft to grab Anthony Miller in the second round.

It’s curious to wonder what might’ve happened if Phillips hadn’t intervened as this suggests.

VIDEO: Anthony Rizzo Returns To Leadoff Spot And Drills A Home Run!

By
Aldo Soto
-

Anthony Rizzo baby!

Joe Maddon put Rizzo back in the leadoff spot, hoping to kick-start the offense and the Chicago Cubs first baseman and well when the wind is howling out at Wrigley Field who wouldn’t want to bat right away.

Rizzo hit a leadoff home run on the very first pitch he saw on Tuesday.

There he is, the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time.

Meet The Biggest Duncan Keith Fan In Chicago

By
Aldo Soto
-

There are many people who show their love for a team by getting tattoos and some can turn out looking amazing. Then, you have people like Bryant Torres of Elgin. This dude gave everyone a good laugh with an incredible mugshot that features not one, but two Chicago Blackhawks inspired tattoos, including one right on his cheek.

This is beautiful, as in the worst shit I’ve ever seen, making it the funniest tattoo combination ever. Not only does he have the Blackhawks logo, this guy makes sure everyone know Duncan Keith is his favorite player too.

I’m going to guess the intersection of a Venn diagram with people who have face tattoos and people who end up jail is huge.

By the way, Bryant as a first name? Bad. Face tattoo? Bad. Ability to run away from police? Bad.

Chicago Tribune:

Officers attempted to stop Torres in the Elgin City Hall parking lot, 150 Dexter Court, about 9:40 a.m., but he took off toward the river and jumped in, Hilton said.

Firefighters were called in to do a water rescue and saw him go into the drainage pipe, battalion chief Terry Bruce said.

“As he got to the Chicago Street bridge, he saw a drain pipe and ran into there,” Bruce said. “That took him into the street sewer system. We pulled off a half-dozen manhole covers to look for him.”

Firefighters were preparing to enter the system, “never knowing what the gases are like in those spaces, when he popped up about 150 feet in front of us,” Bruce said. The sewer grate was in front of Eaton’s Redwood Inn, 118 W. Chicago St., Bruce said.

And having a very distinguishable tattoo ON YOUR FACE is also terrible planning if you’re going to do things that end with the police hunting you down. You can’t just cover it up, change your hair color, put on sunglasses or anything like that.

Your ugly tattoo is right on your face just waiting for someone to identify you.

Hey, at least we know who the most die-hard Blackhawks fan is.

Predicting the Chicago Bears 2018 NFL Depth Chart

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears bold predictions

The main avenues of player acquisition have passed for this off-season. It’s time to ask the big question. What will the Chicago Bears 2018 NFL depth chart look like? A short, simple answer would be better. On paper, this roster looks younger, faster, deeper and more athletic at almost every position that it was a year ago. A true credit to the hard work done by the coaching staff and front office.

They also have a core of leadership in place as well. True characters who have become the driving force of a new generation of Bears football. They’re ready to rally the troops. It’s just about pinpointing who the other soldiers will be in this pursuit to end one of the longest playoff droughts in franchise history.

Since this is still speculation at this point, the predictions will be led off by a potential trade possibility that could ease their biggest concern.

Kevin White traded for Shaq Lawson

Suddenly the Bears are swimming in wide receivers, putting the future of their former 1st round pick in question. One might think he has no trade value but that’s not entirely true. He’s still just 25-years old. The talent is there. It’s about staying healthy. All it takes is for one team to think they might be able to get something out of him.

The Buffalo Bills have their own receiver issues with the uncertain status of former second rounder Zay Jones following his hotel incident. After him, it’s a bunch of career reserves and late round picks. With Josh Allen in town, they need targets for their new QB. A player-for-player swap for White could be a worthwhile gamble.

So why would they give up Lawson? Like White, he’s dealt with his share of issues in Buffalo. First, it was an injury problem and more recently he’s rumored to be at odds with head coach Sean McDermott over his role in the defense. The team just got done signing Trent Murphy in free agency and also started Eddie Yarbrough over him. He’s a product of the previous GM and coach too. It’s not a huge stretch.

Quarterback (3)

  • Mitch Trubisky
  • Chase Daniel
  • Tyler Bray

Don’t expect any significant changes in the next few months. Trubisky is the unquestioned starter moving forward and nobody will challenge Daniel for the backup job. The only possibility is that the Bears sign someone to compete with Bray for the #3 slot. Given his connection to Matt Nagy though, that doesn’t seem likely either.

Running back (4)

  • Jordan Howard
  • Tarik Cohen
  • Bennie Cunningham
  • Ryan Nall

It could be a fun year for Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen in this new offense. Cunningham is also back to offer quality depth and a presence on special teams. The interesting change is adding Ryan Nall to the mix. He’s a big, deceptively athletic runner in his own right with good north-south ability. He has the body to try him out at fullback too.

Wide receiver (6)

  • Allen Robinson
  • Taylor Gabriel
  • Anthony Miller
  • Bennie Fowler
  • Javon Wims
  • Josh Bellamy

The top three on this list is hard not to get excited about. There’s size, strength, speed, quickness, and athleticism for days. They compliment each other so well. The trading of White also makes sorting out the bottom easier. Javon Wims stays on as a developmental project while Fowler and Bellamy serve as key members of the special teams.

Tight end (3)

  • Adam Shaheen
  • Trey Burton
  • Dion Sims

It’s not a group long on proven productivity but there is definitely the talent. Shaheen flashed the reasons why he was a second round pick last year late in the season. Burton was a gadget player who established himself as a serious red zone threat. Sims couldn’t cut it as a starter but he’s still an able blocker and offers good depth.

Offensive line (9)

  • Charles Leno
  • Bobby Massie
  • Kyle Long
  • Cody Whitehair
  • James Daniels
  • Eric Kush
  • Bradley Sowell
  • Jordan Morgan
  • Hroniss Grasu

The starting lineup looks strong for the Bears, especially along the interior with Cody Whitehair, Kyle Long and rookie James Daniels. What might be lost is how sneaky solid their depth is. Kush and Sowell are able backups at guard and tackle respectively. Morgan should progress well going into his second year. One many who should count himself luck is Grasu, who is retained due to his connection with offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich.

Defensive line (5)

  • Akiem Hicks
  • Eddie Goldman
  • Jonathan Bullard
  • Roy Robertson-Harris
  • Bilal Nichols

Hicks and Goldman are the obvious starters. They will anchor the front three as they did a year ago. The hard part for the Bears is finding who will replace Mitch Unrein. Bullard looks like the early favorite but Robertson-Harris has certain qualities worth keeping an eye on. Nichols should be a fun project for Fangio with intriguing strength and a high motor.

Outside linebacker (5)

  • Leonard Floyd
  • Shaq Lawson
  • Aaron Lynch
  • Kylie Fitts
  • Sam Acho

This is where the hypothetical takes over. A trio of Floyd, Lawson and Lynch is far easier to digest than where the Bears are currently. Lynch is a complete wild card at this stage. Floyd has to prove he can stay healthy. Fitts has nice qualities as a situational rusher but also has injury problems. Acho is into his 30s but still reliable.

Inside linebacker (4)

  • Danny Trevathan
  • Roquan Smith
  • Nick Kwiatkoski
  • Joel Iyiegbuniwe
  • John Timu

Given Pace credit. He stacked the deck quite well here. Trevathan and Smith have a chance to become one of the underrated linebacker pairings in the NFL. Kwiatkoski is a proven backup while Iyiegbuniwe and Timu offer solid depth and specials teams capability. Every avenue should be covered, which isn’t always easy to do.

Cornerback (6)

  • Kyle Fuller
  • Prince Amukamara
  • Bryce Callahan
  • Sherrick McManis
  • Cre’Von LeBlanc
  • Kevin Toliver

The trio of Fuller, Amukamara, and Callahan were more than capable in 2017 and should be again for at least one more year. McManis is the best special teams player the Bears have. LeBlanc should make nice depth behind Callahan in the slot. Toliver is the surprise, an undrafted free agent from LSU who will beat out Marcus Cooper for the last slot.

Safety (4)

  • Eddie Jackson
  • Adrian Amos
  • DeAndre Houston-Carson
  • Deiondre Hall

Jackson and Amos look like the unchallenged starters moving forward. No surprise given how well they played together last year. Houston-Carson has established himself on special teams which should cement a backup spot for him. Hall beats out Deon Bush due to his greater versatility and cornerback experience.

Special teams (3)

  • Pat O’Donnell
  • Patrick Scales
  • Cody Parkey

There isn’t going to be any drama in this area. O’Donnell once again somehow hangs onto his position as punter with minimal competition offered by the Bears. Scales is a quality long snapper who is now healthy. The big upgrade is Parkey at the kicker spot, someone of legitimate Pro Bowl quality when he’s not battling injury.

Hey Hey! The Best Leadoff Hitter In MLB History Is Back Again For The Cubs

By
Aldo Soto
-

Joe Maddon warned everyone, so this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but at the same time what a lovely surprise he’s giving Chicago Cubs fans, as the best leadoff hitter in MLB history is back!

Albert Almora Jr. is getting the day off, so Anthony Rizzo is leading off.

Rizzo was dealing with a back issue earlier in the year, but he just hasn’t looked all that great. He’s had a few moments where you think he’s turning the corner, but the results haven’t been there and you can tell Rizzo is getting frustrated.

No one is really worried because Rizzo has had has struggles in April almost every season with the Cubs and that includes Maddon, who said the following on Tuesday.

Hopefully this move gets Rizzo going, as he’s currently slashing .149/.259/.189, with only one home run. Rizzo did spend time on the 10-day DL.

And yes, we’re joking about the best leadoff hitter stuff, but Rizzo really did boost the Cubs offense last year, when Maddon put him in the leadoff role.

How about a repeat performance.

The Most Impressive Cubs Stats After April

By
Aldo Soto
-

The Chicago Cubs have won five in a row and ended April atop of the NL Central Division standings 0.5 a game ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite a slow start, there have been several great performances so far in 2018 by the Cubs and here are the very best.

If you want to give out a team MVP award for April on the Cubs it is definitely Javier Baez. Here’s what he did heading into Monday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies.

Unlike his unreal series at Coors Field, where Cubs fans filled the stadium cheering his name…

… Baez couldn’t add on to those incredible numbers on Monday, going 0-for-4. However, El Mago still has some impressive stats.

Javier Baez Is En Fuego

(NL Ranks)

  • 26 RBIs – 1st
  • 3 Triples – 1st
  • .630 slugging % – 3rd
  • 63 total bases – 3rd
  • 18 extra base hits – 3rd

Not too shabby to go along with his seven home runs.

Yet, this is by far the most impressive Baez stat through April. Yes, everyone loves the .630 slugging, but remember when Baez made his MLB debut in 2014 and had a strikeout rate of 41.5% in 52 games? Well, he’s come a long way from that.

So far in 108 plate appearances, Baez has a 22.2% strikeout rate, which is down 6.1% from 2017. Of course it’s only a 26-game sample size, but if Baez has actually somewhat learned not to chase that slider a foot outside, then the Cubs have another elite bat in the lineup.

Speaking of elite bats, Kris Bryant is off to another great season.

Kris Bryant On-Base Machine

It’s pretty crazy that Bryant keeps getting better year after year, but it’s true. He’s striking out less, making harder contact and as always continues to get on base at a high rate.

The 2016 MVP only has two home runs, but that hasn’t affected the rest of his game. Bryant’s .441 OBP ranks fourth-best in the National League.

Now let’s head over to the bullpen that has been equally or even more important to the team’s success after 26 games.

The Cubs bullpen ranks third in the NL with a 2.56 ERA, but let’s focus on two guys. First, Carl Edwards Jr.

Carl Edwards Jr. Is Still Nasty

The slender righty has 23 strikeouts in 13.2 innings out fo the bullpen this season, but we’ve always known Edwards can strike out the very best with ease. His most impressive stat is the number of walks.

There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a reliever come in with a lead and then he starts walking guys. It’s incredibly maddening and Edwards has been one of those relievers for the Cubs. Last year he had a 14.5% walk rate. Awful.

Through 13 appearances in 2018, Edwards has walked five batters in 13.2 innings, a 9.4% walk rate. If he keeps that up the Cubs will have two shut down relievers to close out games in October and that’s because Brandon Morrow has been freaking great.

Brandon Morrow Is NSFW

I mean, just look at this pitch.

If you were worried about losing Wade Davis and no longer having a shut down closer, then Morrow has more than answered any doubts.

He’s pitched in 11 games, allowing only six hits and three walks in 10 innings.

Morrow still hasn’t given up a run, while striking out nine batters.

The man puts up zeros and does it quickly too.

Morrow is 7-for-7 in save opportunities.

Finally, one more thing to point out from the pitching staff.

So, the starting rotation was pretty brutal at the start of April, but the starters have carried the team for the last week. It began with Tyler Chatwood.

Tyler Chatwood Is Effectively Wild

The Cubs swept the Milwaukee Brewers, shutting them out for the fifth time on Sunday and it was also the sixth straight quality start for the Cubs. Chatwood pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out four and walking three.

Chatwood actually started that streak of quality starts against the Cleveland Indians, allowing only one run in six innings on April 24. The one thing that stands out about Chatwood is obviously his ridiculously high amount of walks.

In 28.2 innings, Chatwood has walked 22 hitters and that includes at least three in four of his five starts. However, despite the walks Chatwood has a 2.83 ERA, which is second behind Jon Lester on the Cubs.

I still remember his first start against the Cincinnati Reds, as he walked six guys. It wasn’t just how many he was walking, but who and when. Not once, but twice Chatwood walked two straight in front of Joey Votto. That’s usually a recipe for disaster, but both times Chatwood retired Votto and got out of the inning with no runs allowed.

His starts have been painful to sit through, but there’s a sense of calm coming from Chatwood when he’s on the mound even when he’s walking the everyone in the ballpark. There’s never panic coming from Chatwood.

So, the 2.83 ERA is impressive because walking 22 in five starts is obviously playing with fire, but Chatwood has definitely been effectively wild.

The White Sox Are Loaded With Prospects Earning Recognition

By
Matt Enuco
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Baseball America wants you to know about this White Sox prospect.
Sportslogos.net

Each month the White Sox announce minor-league all-stars and organizational accolades, and April is especially crowded. Zack Collins awoke from an early-season slumber to grab the Southern League Player of the Week while a trio of comrades snagged organizational accolades.

Despite early struggles that carried over from last season’s growing pains, Collins appears to be hitting the sweet spot. The left-handed backstop batted .406 over the last seven days reaching base 16 times with a pedestrian (for him) .571 on-base percentage and 1.333 OPS. He’s still pulling himself up from beneath the mendoza-line with a .206 batting average.

The White Sox also heaped praise on a trio of prospects that any Sox-fan would be happy to see doing well.

Seby Zavala, who stands to challenge Collins for playing-time at Double-A, was a 12th-round pick in 2015 and boosted his standing with the organization with a blistering start to the 2018-season. Zavala is batted .315 with six home runs and 19 runs-batted-in in April. He also strung together an 11-game hitting streak with three home runs in the first three games to start the season. Zavala is currently ranked as the No. 21 prospect in the organization and may find himself climbing that list very quickly.

Another prospect experiencing a rosy first-month of the new season is Luis Alexander Basabe. After a tumultuous introduction in 2017 after being traded from the Red Sox, Basabe erupted in April with a .313 batting average, seven doubles, three triples and 17 RBI. He has flashed his speed/power combination with four home runs and 16 runs scored to pair with his .400 OBP. Basabe leads the Carolina Leauge in slugging (.614), total bases (51) and tied for the lead in extra-base hits (14).

Rounding out the crowd of White-Sox studs worth recognizing is Michael Kopech. Despite closing April winless, Kopech dealt 21 innings of deafening noise to the tune of a 2.14 earned run average. His fastball hovered around 100 mph in each of his outings and boasts the third-best strikeouts-per-nine-innings-pitched (12.4), something that is likely to improve. Calls for Kopech to be promoted from Triple-A have reached a shrill pitch and the Sox could boost him to the bigs anytime without risking a year of control. The primary concern is whether his full menu of pitches is ready for a big-league lineup and how his innings-load shapes up. He is still only 22 years old and the damage that can be done with a premature promotion is something to be avoided.

Bulls Offseason Outlook: What To Do With The Vets

By
Patrick Mooney
-

The 2018 season was all about youth for the Bulls, as it should have been. Of the 12 players that were on the roster for the entirety of the season, 10 of them were, and still are, 25 or younger. Letting the young guns on the court more often helped the Bulls both develop and evaluate the roster while simultaneously piling up enough losses to earn a coveted high draft pick.

That plan put the Bulls’ two veterans, Robin Lopez and Justin Holliday, in a precarious position.

The experienced duo spent the majority of the second half as healthy scratches. While they were on the court, they both had career years scoring the ball and the coaching staff praised their leadership. We’ll find out soon if the organization values that leadership enough to keep them around.

They both have just one year left on their contracts, which likely makes them more tradeable now than they were back at the February trade deadline. However, it seemed that the Bulls were strongly, actively shopping Lopez and didn’t come close to finding a trade partner willing to meet their asking price. Will the Bulls be able to bridge the gap between their asking price and what the market actually values Lopez at?

Considering Lopez is set to make over $14M next season, can’t do much offensively but set screens and clean up around the rim, averaged less than five rebounds a game, posted a below average DRtg and isn’t of much use defensively against the pick and roll, my guess is no. Lopez has more value to the Bulls as a rotational big that provides leadership in the locker room while helping the Bulls reach the salary floor in 2019 than he does to them as a trade piece. Paxson has essentially already come out and said so:

“We do view Robin as part of our future,” Paxson said. “Even as much as the game has changed, Robin gives us a solid foundation guy. You know what you’re going to get from Robin every night. You’re going to get effort, rebounding, scoring around the basket. The time he’s not been playing, he’s been working on his perimeter shot, working on his range. He fits our team and our culture.”

Holiday, on the other hand, could interest someone. He posted a respectable 47.4 eFG% last season and is set to make just $4.3M next season. Also, moving him will free up 31.5 minutes a game on the wing for the Bulls, which might be necessary depending on who they add in the draft. The Bulls could probably find a trade partner willing to depart with a veteran backup point guard to acquire Holiday, which would fill the locker room void created by Holiday’s departure. Both Fred Hoiberg and Kris Dunn would benefit by having a veteran presence leading the second unit on the court next season.

The new league year officially starts two months from today. Until then, Lopez and Holiday’s futures will remain murky.

 

Five Ways Chicago Can Fix Their Edge Rusher Problem

By
Erik Lambert
-
chicago bears edge rusher

The Chicago Bears edge rusher position is the only one that sticks out as a serious problem now. Everything else they’ve done this 2018 off-season has bolstered the rest of the roster. Wide receiver is stacked with talent. The offensive line is reinforced. Inside linebacker has not one but two intriguing, young athletes joining the fray. Cornerback even got an intriguing infusion of bodies via undrafted free agency.

All the while edge rusher lingers on as an area of serious concern. Leonard Floyd is still in place but he’s coming off a knee injury. His likely fellow starter is Aaron Lynch, a cheap free agent addition with connections to Vic Fangio who has 2.5 sacks the past two years. Behind them, it gets even worse. Sam Acho is over 30. Kyle Fitts is a sixth round pick with an extensive injury history.

They’re caught in a dangerous situation. Not only is their front line talent questionable, but so is their depth. It feels like a near certainty they must and will make another move there before the season begins properly in a few months. The question is who can they go after this late in the game? Here are five possibilities they might consider.

Possible Chicago Bears edge rusher solutions

Sign Lamarr Houston

This seems like the simplest and most obvious one. Lamarr Houston was re-signed by Chicago late last season after a brief stint in Houston. In the final five games of the year, he collected four sacks. It’s apparent he likes playing in Fangio’s defense. The fact he remains unsigned means the Bears could probably get him back cheap. Thus far he’s met with Oakland and the Jets but hasn’t inked a deal yet.

Sign Connor Barwin

The veteran turns 32-years old this October but Barwin continues to show that he can bring something to the table. He hasn’t had fewer than five sacks in a season dating back to 2013. He’s also experienced playing in a 3-4 system, where he tends to fit best. That dependability also comes from a run of good health. He’s missed only two games in the past seven years. A one-year deal for him would ease the problem.

Trade for Shane Ray

This, as always will come down to how aggressive GM Ryan Pace is feeling. He’s shown he doesn’t fear to make bold trades to upgrade his roster. To this point, he’s never acquired a notable player from another team. One must also remember he already gave up a second round pick for Anthony Miller last month. Still, with the arrival of Bradley Chubb, the Broncos’ transition to a 4-3 defense is more apparent than ever. Many feel that Shane Ray is a poor fit moving forward and could be available at the right price.

Trade for Shaquil Barrett

Ray isn’t the only pass rusher in Denver who now sees out of place. Shaquil Barrett has lingered on as a primary reserve for years despite showing frequent glimpses that he can do more. When he started six games in 2015 back when they ran an actual 3-4, he had 5.5 sacks. He’s too short to play 4-3 defensive end and with his contract winding down, the Broncos have to make a decision on what to do with him.

Trade for Malik Jackson

Now, this is definitely the boldest one on the list. Why would the Jacksonville Jaguars be willing to part with Malik Jackson after he just posted eight sacks in 2017 along with a Pro Bowl? The answer is simple. Money. Current projections show the Jaguars will be over $17 million in the red next year.

They may have to make a sacrifice to find breathing room. Having drafted Taven Bryan in the first round, it’s clear Jackson may end up being the odd man out. He’d bring a cap relief of $9.5 million if dealt. He has experience playing in a 3-4 system at defensive end, helping the Broncos win the Super Bowl in 2015. A trio of him, Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman up front could be lethal.

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