As we know, the Bears (and their 30th ranked secondary) could use some serious help on defense next season. And while many are hopeful for an immediate improvement thanks to their selections in the first few rounds of a very deep upcoming NFL Draft, they were always going to need to add via free agency, as well.
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Which is why, earlier today, we were pretty excited to learn that the Bears were in on cornerback A.J. Bouye – a guy who many saw as the top talent available at his position. Unfortunately, it’s not gonna happen:
A.J. Bouye to Jaguars on five-year, $67.5 million deal $13.5 million annually
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 9, 2017
Some more on the contract particulars:
The #Jaguars deal for AJ Bouye pays him $44M over the first 3 years. Hefty.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2017
AJ Bouye is getting 5-Years, $67.5M, $26M Fully Guaranteed – $13.5M Per Year, per Michael Wright.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2017
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Worse, missing out on Bouye came just hours after the Bears also missed out on another offseason corner back target, Stephen Gilmore. He’ll reportedly get a similar deal to Bouye, at $65 million over five years, with $40 guaranteed:
Patriots are giving former Bills CB Stephon Gilmore a five-year, $65 million deal that includes $40 million guaranteed, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2017
Those are some serious commitments, and if the Bears feel they aren’t yet close to competing, maybe they didn’t want to be too terribly aggressive in this particular class.
Still, the improvement has to come from somewhere. The draft is deep in the secondary, but you simply can’t count on 1) the right players being available the entire time and 2) that they’ll perform exactly how you hope/project, at least not immediately.
But given the earlier reports suggesting that Gilmore was disappointed by the Bears’ level of involvement – and how some other things have shaken out today – you have to wonder just how eager the Bears’ front office was to play in the deep end of free agency anyway (aside, of course, from Mike Glennon).
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