One day after swapping out linebacker depth for help at receiver, the Chicago Bears found themselves shipping out a receiver to help the linebackers room.
The team announced the signing of linebacker Austin Calitro on Monday night. To make room for Calitro, the team released wide receiver Reggie Davis.
Calitro, 27, has 42 games of experience over three seasons with the Seahawks (2018), Jaguars (2019), and Broncos (2020). He also has extensive special teams experience, playing on at least 45 percent of third-phase snaps in each of the last three years. The Villanova product has 1.5 sacks, 88 total tackles (65 solo), 7 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hits under his belt. This, by no means, is a glamour signing. But it’s one that reminds me of a trend from earlier in the offseason. Moreover, it reminds me the Bears have done well to use value signings to patch up holes and not repeat the mistakes of 2020.
One year ago, the Bears saw quality linebacker depth such as Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis leave in free agency without replacing them with quality veteran presence. A year later, Chicago has brought in Calitro (42 games) and Christian Jones (108 games) to round out the room. To be clear, these aren’t signings made with the intent to push Roquan Smith out the door. Instead, these moves serve as a reminder of the importance of quality depth. The Bears’ most competitive teams had that going for them in recent years. Re-visiting things and making sure depth isn’t an issue is a wise move — even if it flies under the radar.