Chicago Bears (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Could the Chicago Bears decide to bring back one or more familiar faces for the 2020 season?
Well, Chicago Bears fans, we made it to draft week! On Thursday night, the 2020 NFL Draft will kick off virtually with Round 1, although Ryan Pace won’t get to make a pick until Round 2 starting Friday night. With limited draft picks (seven total) and none in Rounds 1, 3, or 4, it is distinctly possible the team emerges from this weekend’s draft with needs left to fill.
In that scenario, could the team decide to bring back one or more familiar faces? They sure could. You may remember in what feels like eons ago when the Chicago Bears parted ways with veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara and speedy wide receiver, Taylor Gabriel.
After multiple waves of free agency, neither has signed with a new team. In fact, go to their respective Twitter pages and you’ll see Gabriel’s profile picture is still him in a Bears uniform and Prince’s background photo is still Bears related.
Back at the end of February, the Bears released both, and while they took a $3 million dead cap hit by doing so, they saved a total of $16.5 million, for a net savings of $13.5 million, which they used to fil other needs in free agency.
However, they did not address either the wide receiver or cornerback position in free agency. Perhaps they are comfortable with the current competition at cornerback, or with their depth at wide receiver. However, it is certainly fair to say that the cornerback position is a big question mark and they seem to be in need of a burner wide receiver.
Therefore, it seems more likely that the Bears will look to improve both of those spots in the draft. But what if they’re not able to and they come out with the same exact needs? Well, then, I guess we’ll see just how confident they really are with the current composition at those positions.
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But if they’re not 100 percent sold, and want to address through what’s left in free agency, then both of these players make a ton of sense. Both are obviously familiar with the team’s respective schemes, which would be critical during a truncated offseason in which they won’t have the luxury of getting an outsider “up to speed.”
Of course, as is always the case, it will all come down to money and how much each is looking for. However, the longer they stay on the market, the lower that price could go and the Bears could find themselves in a position to bring back to familiar faces on relatively cheap deals. Stay tuned.
