Last offseason, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles used his first year with the team sparingly. It was not an offseason which Poles was going to go out and make big commitments.
Instead, he signed many guys to shorter deals and wanted to evaluate who he had inherited (and chose to keep) on the initial roster.
One of those short-term deals came when the team signed linebacker Nicholas Morrow, formerly of the Las Vegas Raiders. Now a free agent come March, Morrow is an option for the Bears to bring back.
The question is, will they bring him back for 2023? Even better question: is he worth re-signing?
Should the Chicago Bears re-sign free agent linebacker Nicholas Morrow?
The linebacker position is one spot the Bears are going to likely need a major overhaul at, with the only surefire starter returning in Jack Sanborn. At least, most would assume Sanborn to be the only one who should be locked and loaded as a starter.
Looking at Morrow’s line from a year ago, it does seem productive at first glance.
He finished with a career-high 116 total tackles, with 83 being solo. Morrow compiled 11 tackles for loss, two passes defensed and an interception. Overall, it would appear as a solid season.
However, looking further, Morrow was actually a liability in some areas, specifically against the run. In many cases, Morrow was chasing from behind rather than making a good initial read. There were a few missed tackles, but mostly Morrow being caught out of position and not making the correct read from the jump.
Pro Football Focus gave him a miserable 46.8 grade against the run for the entirety of the 2022 season, and that’s an area the Bears have to get better against. They cannot afford to be as bad as they were last season against the run.
If the front four gets significantly better this offseason, then Morrow might not be a bad re-signing. However, he cannot be counted on to be one of the main points of contact in the run game. It has to start up front.
Should there be an opportunity to upgrade Morrow’s spot, then Poles should take it, whether it be in the draft or via free agency.
