With the NFL Combine gearing up, Bears GM Ryan Pace and Head Coach John Fox addressed the media on a number of issues facing the organization today.
During each of their press conferences, both Pace and Fox discussed the decision not to slap the Franchise Tag on Alshon Jeffery for the second consecutive season, and we talked about that earlier today.
In short, the two sides (the Bears and Jeffery’s camp) got to a point where the only logical next step was allowing Jeffery to test the market and determine his actual value. In that respect, things aren’t necessarily over.
For now, let’s looks at some of the other notable remarks …
At ChicagoBears.com, you can watch about five minutes of Fox’s press conference in full, including what he considers the “bright spots” of the last two seasons. Namely, the Bears ability to block up front allowed for a more explosive run game. But he has no illusions, the Bears have a LOT of room for improvement, and he’s looking forward to taking that next step.
Fox also believes that the Bears ability to offer familiarity to Alshon Jeffery might be the key to drawing him back into Chicago’s arms. But for what it’s worth, Pace’s comments sound a little more tentative. Or rather, he doesn’t want to speed up the plan in exchange for a quick fix:
#Bears GM Ryan Pace: "We’re looking to set this thing up for long-term success. You’ve got to be careful not for these quick fixes."
Pace followed that up with the very idea that “You can always recover from the player you didn’t sign; you can’t recover from the player that you signed at the wrong price.” That’s a very important distinction, and I’m glad he raised it.
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But to that end, it’s worth pointing out that the Bears have many very obvious needs and could have up to $60 million cap space with which to play this offseason. But again, fixing a problem right now at the expense of the future just because is not the way to build sustainable success, especially for a team that has such an uphill climb after going 3-13 last year.
On the upcoming draft, Pace was asked whether the Bears were inclined to reach for a quarterback or “get value,” to which he thankfully responded “You have to get value.” That may ultimately mean a quarterback is the way to go, but most teams (in any sport, really) wind up burned when they skip over the best possible player in exchange for a position of need. The quarterback in the NFL may be the one exception where you consider bumping up the “value” a few notches, but generally, take the best value available and sort everything else out later.
While avoiding surgery is good (when possible), Pace wouldn’t put a timeline on his recovery. According to Dan Wiederer on Twitter, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be ready for training camp. But according to Pace, Long is strong (lol) and is doing well so far. Although there’s some maintenance to be done (strength, building back up) there are no concerns as of now.
Pace is also really looking forward to the upcoming free agent season:
#Bears GM Pace: "I feel extremely prepared for this free agency process … and it gives me confidence with all these different scenarios."
Other tweets intimated that the extra “confidence” he feels is due to his background in pro personnel. There’s reason to believe the next few weeks could be “wild.“
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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NEWSLETTER
With the NFL Combine gearing up, Bears GM Ryan Pace and Head Coach John Fox addressed the media on a number of issues facing the organization today.
