Success! I have made it through the first 10 days of my meditation journey. It’s a small step toward a better and healthier lifestyle, but it feels good. Who knew that taking just five minutes out of my day to clear my mind would have a positive impact?
Tag Day might mean something different to Brett and Michael over at our sister site, but it carries special meaning here. Today is the first day NFL teams can designate Franchise and Transition players. As a refresher, we outlined the three distinct tags teams can give players here. Based on the Bears’ salary cap situation and needs, it’s highly unlikely they place the tag on safety Adrian Amos or cornerback Bryce Callahan. But I suppose they have until March 5 to officially make that designation.
As for the players who could get some sort of tag action, ESPN’s Adam Schefter offers up some names:
I know, I know. Seeing the names of Robbie Gould and Stephen Gostkowski (the two best kickers who were set to hit free agency) probably isn’t going to sit well with those of you who were holding out hope to use available cap funds on the team’s most glaring weakness.
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell’s name popping up on Schefter’s early list is intriguing. Bell and the Steelers appear destined for a breakup after the star running back sat out last year, but it’s understandable why Pittsburgh would want to tag its disgruntled stud, if only to ensure compensation for his departure. Perhaps the non-exclusive tag or transition tag are in play here. We’ll see.
While Bell coming to the Bears is admittedly a long shot, I’m curious to see if GM Ryan Pace goes outside of conventional wisdom and makes a move for Bell. After all, Chicago was rumored to be a sleeper team in the Bell sweepstakes.
One player we know is going nowhere is quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Bill Zimmerman of Bear Goggles On sat down for an exclusive interview with QB1 during Super Bowl week in Atlanta. Trubisky doesn’t dive too deeply into a ton of things, but you can tell by his answers that he is more open to conversation and is better at communicating his thoughts than he was in September. I reckon this should serve as a reminder that player growth isn’t limited to the playing field. After seeing the leap from his rookie season to Year 2, I’m looking forward to seeing what Trubisky’s next step looks like.
This wouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone who watched game tape, but I’m glad I’m not the only one who saw this:
Oh, look! More highly-graded Bears defensive players:
A part of me sees two Lions in the top five and raises an eyebrow. But Snacks Harrison and A’Shawn Robinson are high-quality defensive players. The rest of that unit … not so much. Perhaps the Lions have something to work with here. That is, of course, if they don’t Lions it up.
I did not expect this argument, but stranger things have happened in the NFL:
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1097707536235618305
I guess there is a case for the Raiders being that sneaky, out-of-nowhere contender who makes the worst-to-first jump and makes the postseason after having a top-10 pick the previous year. But just know I’m rooting hard against it because that second-round pick the Bears get from the Raiders in 2020 needs to be a juicy one.
Handshakes are fun:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1097888710828339201
Yikes! The AAF is two weeks into its maiden voyage and already has money problems. Sources tell David Glenn of The Athletic that the up-start league will soon be introduce Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon as the league’s new chairman after injecting $250 million from his own pocket to help the league meet some financial obligations. Playing football isn’t inexpensive, but I hope potential money problems don’t hurt would could be a functional developmental wing for the professional game.
Amazon’s Fire tablets are all on a big sale right now, so if you want to get a cheap tablet, here you go.