Baseball fans wonder (and often times, debate) which cap a player will wear when their plaque is unveiled in Cooperstown. For legendary Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, it’s whether his bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame will have hair or not.
Thanks to Urlacher’s Instagram page, we now have a sneak peak of how he will be depicted in Canton:
While I think it’s cool that Urlacher has a new look, I’ll always be #TeamNoHairDontCare.
The hope is that Roquan Smith follows in Urlacher’s footsteps and becomes the next great inside linebacker to suit up for the Chicago Bears. And the first step would probably be to win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus thinks it could happen, as he lists Smith at the top of his list of candidates for the award in 2018. Monson describes Smith’s coverage skills as “elite” and if you team that with range, instincts, and tackling ability, you could see why Smith stands out. If Smith becomes an impact rookie contributor off the bat, it doesn’t take much of an imagination to envision him winning that award – just like Urlacher did in 2000.
Urlacher’s departure from the Bears’ defense left the group soft in the middle. The tandem of Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman was supposed to change that, and for a moment, it looked like they did. Unfortunately, injuries and suspensions limited Freeman’s playing time and production. As it turns out, Freeman would have been extremely limited moving forward as Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Freeman’s retirement allowed the former linebacker to sidestep a two-year suspension after a third failed drug test. Remember, it was a second failed test that led to a 10-game suspension that came down after he tore his pectoral muscle in Week 1 of the 2017 season.
Here’s hoping Smith, Trevathan, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, and Nick Kwiatkoski will make us forget about the whole Freeman experience. Especially if the Bears’ two rookies from the class of 2018 turn out to be solid players.
I’m not going to pretend to be a rugby expert, but I’m not sure the announced November triple-header is going to be great for the Soldier Field playing surface.
At least it will be a homecoming of sorts for Paul Lasike, who played 10 games at fullback for the Bears in 2016. Lasike will play for USA Rugby in one leg of the triple-header, according to Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune.
And because you know you want them, here are highlights of Lasike scoring in his USA Rugby debut:
Louis Riddick is one of my favorite NFL analysts on ESPN because he comes off as honest and engaging when it could be easy to drown consumers in football jargon. He was passed up for the Monday Night Football analyst job that went to Jason Witten, but Riddick will still be a widely seen contributor on MNF. ESPN announced Riddick will receive a multi-year extension and an expanded role at the network. During the offseason, Riddick lauded Matt Nagy’s football acumen and his pursuit of knowledge when discussing what it was like working with the Bears’ first-year head coach back when they were both on the Philadelphia Eagles’ staff.
Speaking of Witten, I’m not as sure as he is that Dez Bryant is going to sign with the Packers. At least, not after hearing Ian Rapoport report that nothing is imminent:
New TV analyst Jason Witten isn't wrong. The #Packers have been considered a possible Dez Bryant landing spot… but they aren't engaged now and nothing is imminent. pic.twitter.com/0ylUSaygJZ
It’s déjà vu all over again for Mike Glennon. One year after signing a free agent deal with the Bears and watching his new team draft his replacement, Glennon is repeating history. Josh Rosen, come on down! Once again, it will be an uphill climb for Glennon, who is listed behind Rosen on the Arizona Cardinals’ depth chart. The Cardinals moved up in the draft to select Rosen after signing Glennon (and Sam Bradford) to fill up quarterback spots on the roster, and still used a first-round pick on a signal caller. If there was ever a vote of no confidence, that’s it.
If you don’t laugh at this, we’ll need to sit down and have a chat:
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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