Former Bears Remain Unsigned
The Bears have a few big names that remain unsigned as of this morning. Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Danny Trevathan, Jimmy Graham, Marquise Goodwin, Alec Ogletree, Bruce Irving, Jason Peters and Tarik Cohen. Cohen could be explained as he would be a PUP list addition for a team right away. But the other four men, the thing they all have in common is age. None of us like to hear experts say athletes are past their prime in their 30's. But taking a closer look we see that Peters leads the way at age 40, Graham 35, Irving 34, Goldman and Trevathan are 32, Goodwin 31, Ogletree 30, and rounding it out is Goldman at 28 years young. Odds are that each of these players will be signed for the upcoming year.
Peters may be looking at a Whitworth deal to get himself a championship before he retires. Lately however, depending on the players and their positions, we are starting to see athletes playing later into their careers. Guys like Vinatieri, Brady, and Whitworth are showing that age 30 is not the peak number anymore. Even with the valued age number on the rise, Poles and Eberflus are showing the difference in mentalities from the previous regime.
Nagy was quoted saying «This is a Hall of Fame player that's been playing a long time and he battled his ass off to get back here and play, and he did a great job.» Pace and Nagy acquired veteran players with experience and previous years where they excelled. Poles and Eberflus want the guys that are trying to prove themselves. The Bears are not in a win-now mindset. Wins are great, but the newly hired duo are working together to build a future with players they feel are up and comers. There's less emphasis on who you are and more on who you will be. Older players are great for mentorship, but as a first-year head coach, Eberflus wants to be the one mentoring his style and not that of someone who doesn't know his system yet. Had he been in Nagy's position last year, I'm confident we would have definitely seen Tevin Jenkins starting on the offensive line.
As fans are feeling on edge about the current status, just know that there is a plan and the coaches are looking for players with a football mentality. If you need any encouragement look at how well it worked in the movie "The Replacements!"
| POLL | ||
4 AVRIL | 281 ANSWERS Former Bears Remain Unsigned Which available free agent (age 28 and below) would you like to see the Bears sign? | ||
| Eddie Goldman (DT) | 61 | 21.7 % |
| Landon Collins (S) | 82 | 29.2 % |
| Will Fuller (WR) | 62 | 22.1 % |
| Ereck Flowers (G) | 76 | 27 % |
| List of polls | ||
