NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears are at a crossroads. After delivering a dud in 2019, they must make changes at important positions to get back on the winning track. One way to achieve that goal is through free agency. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the more promising and available targets to see if there’s a fit for the Bears in 2020.
Previous free agent targets: TE Austin Hooper, QB Marcus Mariota, QB Case Keenum, LB Nick Kwiatkoski, LB Danny Trevathan, OL Graham Glasgow, TE Eric Ebron, OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai
Previous trade targets: QB Andy Dalton, QB Nick Foles
Potential Target, Age (in 2020), Position
Hayden Randle Hurst, 27, tight end
2019 Performance
Season stats: 16 games (4 starts), 30 catches, 349 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
Pro Football Focus grade: 72.4, 14th among 66 qualifying tight ends
There isn’t much of a sample in which to grade Hurst’s 2019 season. He played just 41.36 percent of the Ravens’ offensive snaps. But unlike Mark Andrews, who played the exact same number of snaps as his 2018 draft classmate, Hurst was unable to make the most of his playing time. Because as Andrews caught 64 passes, gained 852 receiving yards, scored 10 touchdowns, and earned Pro Bowl honors, Hurst was limited to nearly half the number of catches and 40 percent of the receiving yards, lagged big time in the touchdown category, and received no postseason honors for his play.
Performance Before 2019
Stats: 12 games, 13 catches, 163 yards, 1 touchdown
Pro Football Focus grades: 65.7 (2018)
There isn’t much of a sample in which to grade Hurst’s career. He played 12 games as a rookie, in part because of a foot injury that kept him totally out of action for the season’s first three weeks. After that, his action was limited to just 23.1 percent of the team’s total offensive snaps.
Contract Status and Possible Trade Considerations
If you’ve reached this point, you’re probably wondering why I’m writing about Hurst in the first place. But then you’ll remember how much the Bears need to upgrade the tight end and their limitations against the salary cap, which will open you up to alternate options. That brings us to Hurst as a possible trade option.
The 2020 season will be Year 3 of Hurst’s rookie contract. According to OverTheCap.com, he will make $1,483,276 in base salary and come with a cap number of $3,009,827 in 2020. From there he will have one year remaining on his rookie deal (which comes with an estimated $3.5 million cap number) and the possibility for a team-friendly fifth-year option. Considering the Bears ‘place against the cap, exploring the trade market and targeting a recent first-round pick with a strong prospect pedigree would be heady thinking.
As for possible trade compensation, there is bit of a challenge because direct comparisons are hard to find. Perhaps the October 2019 deal between the Bills and Raiders in which Buffalo sent 2017 second-round wide receiver Zay Jones to Oakland for a 2021 fifth-round pick is a solid baseline. Maybe a fourth-rounder in 2021 is a fair return for a 2018 first-rounder.
If Hurst isn’t moved by the Ravens this offseason, it will likely be because the price tag was too much for a team to take a risk on at this time. Jeff Zrebiec (The Athletic) opines Baltimore shouldn’t be looking to trade Hurst unless the return is a second-round pick or multiple Day 3 selections. Seems a bit much for a team’s TE3, even one as tight end reliant as the Ravens.
The Fit
J.P. Holtz led all Bears tight ends with 91 receiving yards. That’s all you need to know about the state of the position and why Hurst is on our radar.
Hurst is a late-bloomer whose football career didn’t take off until after his pro baseball future never grew past the prospect phase. He played three years at South Carolina, earned unanimous first-team All-SEC honors in 2017, and declared for the NFL Draft before the conclusion of his junior season. Hurst was the first tight end taken in the 2018 NFL Draft, and the only one taken in the first round.
Chicago could present Hurst with a clean slate and ample opportunity to get a firm hold on a gig. It probably wouldn’t take long for him to supplant Demetrius Harris on the depth chart and could be used in formations in tandem with Trey Burton. Should the Ravens view Hurst as excess, then the Bears should make a run at acquiring him.
