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Chicago Bears Rumors: Latest speculation should have fans nervous by Patrick Sheldon

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Chicago Bears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The 2021 offseason could get a little crazy for the Chicago Bears.

No matter how the rest of the 2020 season goes, chances are, we are going to see some changes around Halas Hall. These are not the Chicago Bears we were promised — not even remotely close to the 2019 group.

It’s been tough sledding for the Bears, who are reeling at the moment. Chicago is going to need to shake things up next offseason.

It’s not just the quarterback position that needs a facelift, either. The offensive line needs work. The offense as a whole needs work — and that includes coaching, play-calling, scheme; it includes everything.

Shockingly, even the defensive side of the ball needs work. Under Chuck Pagano, they’ve been a “bend-don’t-break” defense that has finally seen holes open up as the season goes on. No longer are they the attackers like they were in 2018. They’re allowing opposing offenses dictate what they do, instead of being the enforcers.

Whether or not you believe in the salary cap myth, Spotrac has the Bears with less than $3 million in cap space for 2021. Now, that’s not a finality by any means because contracts will be voided, restructured and the cap itself could change, too.

But, the Bears have some work to do with this roster, and that work may entail a trade or two.

Chicago has the potential to make some big noise with trades this offseason. Fans and analytic lovers have been talking a bit on social media about which players the Bears could trade after the season in order to save some money and add draft capital. Names have included Kyle Fuller and Akiem Hicks, among others.

But, we’re thinking even bigger, here. The following three trades could be painful at first, but maybe at least one of them is necessary for the Bears to improve where they need to most.

Next: Trade No. 1

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Chicago Bears: 3 offseason trades to start thinking about now by Ryan Heckman

The Chicago Bears would be getting what they deserve if Deshaun Watson plays very well.

The Chicago Bears are a bad football franchise. They deserve everything that comes to them negatively from the media. They make poor decision after poor decision year after year and it shows with their play on the field. They started this season 5-1 but have lost every game since so now they are 5-7. They went from having a chance at the number one seed to being a team that might draft in the top ten. It is hard to admit but it is in their best interest to just keep losing.

We all know already how poor their decision was in 2017 when they traded up to select Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick. He isn’t good at all and they left Patrick Mahomes on the board. Mahomes is on track to be one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL and the Bears let him slip away. It becomes more and more apparent how awful their organization is with each passing week.

Even though Mahomes wasn’t projected to be quite this good, he wasn’t projected to be any worse than Trubisky. With that said, there was a quarterback available that was clearly going to advance to the NFL and be good. Deshaun Watson was coming off of some major success at the University of Clemson, including a National Championship defeat over Alabama who is loaded with pro talent on defense.

Watson isn’t quite as good as Mahomes but he is still in the conversation for the second-best quarterback in the NFL. Nobody would argue with the Bears if they currently had Watson but they decided he wasn’t worth it. It is a swing and a miss that is going to cost Ryan Pace his job but it would be funny to see Watson come to Soldier Field and absolutely embarrass them.

It would show the world (more than it is already known) that the Bears are a joke. It would also be a sign of how the Bears don’t do their due diligence properly because Watson is so awesome and Trubisky is bad. A big loss would also make them one step closer to the Bears losing enough games to get a good draft pick.

Related Story: Ted Phillips retiring would really help the Chicago Bears

Getting in the top ten would be good for them and losing as many games as possible is the biggest key to that. There is a good chance that they would be able to draft a good player with a high enough draft pick but Ryan Pace doesn’t deserve to be the guy making that pick. It would be very fitting for one of his biggest mistakes to come in and get the Bears one step closer to change.

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No injuries were reported according to Chicago police.

A bullet was shot through the window of an occupied fifth-floor hotel room Sunday morning in the South Loop.

About 1:30 a.m. a guest at a hotel in the first block of East Harrison Street heard gunshots as a bullet fired from a parking lot came through their window, Chicago police said.

At the same time, a Gray Cadillac left the hotel parking lot with what appeared to be bullet holes in their vehicle, police said.

Officers attempted to stop that vehicle but it got away, according to police.

No injuries were reported, police said.

Area Three detectives are investigating.

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A big suburban buck, a sign Illinois’ reputation for big bucks is slipping, harvest totals from Illinois firearm deer seasons and a question on a rogue fish stocking are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors.

Notes come from all around Chicago outdoors.

BUCK OF THE WEEK: UNPLUGGED

Paul Yambrovich photographed this big buck on one of his long walks along the Des Plaines River. “He was hot on a doe and couldn’t care less that I was there,” Yambrovich emailed. “The picture doesn’t do him justice. Heavy-bodied and a really large bushel basket rack! Saw him again on my return and he was munching on white acorns. Maybe building up his stamina!”

BOTW Unplugged, the celebration of live big bucks around Chicago outdoors, runs as apt in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email [email protected] or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

WILD TIMES

ILLINOIS SEASONS

Today, Dec. 13: Final day. muzzleloader deer season

Tuesday, Dec. 15: Final day, duck season, north zone

DALE’S MAILBAG

“Dale, want to ask you your opinion. I fish Palmisano Park frequently. I have throughout the years dumped in the following species over the years: Rock bass (about hand size), perch (6 inches or up) and a couple of pumpkinseeds (hand size). What other fish would you recommend for the pond?” A faithful reader

A: None is my recommendation. Biologists/managers carefully calculate what species and how many to put in. Rogue stockings knock such planning askew.

BIG NUMBER

76,579: Deer harvested during Illinois’ two firearm deer season, up slightly from 75,417 in 2019. Click here for a more complete breakdown.

LAST WORD

“Is Ohio the New Best Whitetail Hunting State?”

Tony Hansen, headline for his article posted Dec. 7 on outdoorlife.com, a thought for those of us who remember when that would have been Illinois

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December beer events in Chicago, Stout releases, trivia, even drive-in movies.Read More