In a season that was kin to pulling teeth, Jakeem Grant Sr.’s late-in-the-year outburst made it surprisingly easy to smile. A punt return touchdown here, a score of some gadgetry there, and a little bit of the flair for the dramatic everywhere turned a shot-in-the-dark trade for a down-the-line late-round pick into a fan favorite.
The fan love resulted in Grant making his first-ever Pro Bowl, where he and fellow Pro Bowl Bears representative Robert Quinn were just living it up. The Pro Bowl nod came just in time for Grant to put it on his résumé before hitting free agency. But if it was all up to Grant, it sounds like he would welcome a return to Chicago.
“I think they’ll see what I bring to the table,” Grant told the Sun-Times’ Jason Lieser. “(Offensive Coordinator Luke) Getsy is a young guy who likes to throw the ball. So when he sees me, I think he’ll understand that I’m a guy who can get open, especially in the slot. We can get things moving downfield.”
And for the second time in as many years, the Bears have a tough decision to make with a productive and popular special teams contributor who is about to hit the free agent. Yogi Berra might call it déjà vu all over again. As far as I’m concerned, I see this situation as one that has me hoping the Bears are willing to learn from their past mistakes.
At this time last year, we were pushing for the return of Cordarrelle Patterson. If you’ll recall, Patterson was coming off a two-year run in Chicago in which he was checking off some pretty important boxes. He was a two-time Pro Bowler with two first-team All-Pro nods for his effort as a kick returner and gunner on coverage teams. Someone whose explosiveness with the ball was so undeniable, even Matt Nagy was trying to get him touches on the offensive side of the ball. Nagy was a failure in that regard, but his head was in the right place. Get the ball in the hands of guys who can do special things with it, and let the magic happen. And on top of all that, Patterson was a fan favorite whose interactions with the people in person and via social media gave him some extra juice.
To be clear, Grant isn’t on Patterson’s level – not yet. But there are bits and pieces that put me in a place to think that he can grow into some cult status in Chicago. Not to mention a larger role on offense and special teams. And with that in mind, the Bears need to seriously consider bringing Grant back into the mix.
Unlike last year when the Bears were in a cap crunch, they’ve got some flexibility under the cap. Overthecap.com projects Chicago’s football team to have $28,649,726 in cap space. That would make for the 11th most cap space among NFL teams. It is a good place to be, and it could grow with possible cuts elsewhere on the roster. Even still … that would leave the Bears filling even more holes. And with just five picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, the Bears need to be choosy with their transactions. But that is where someone like Grant makes a ton of sense as a re-sign option.
The Bears need players who can make an impact in multiple facets of the game. Sure, Grant is a kick and punt returner by trade. But let him line up at receiver. Allow him to chip in as a running back. Draw up some plays where he gets the pigskin on a jet sweep, end around, shovel pass, etc. The Bears need players, but it isn’t feasible to address all their needs in one offseason. Hence, the value of someone like Grant who can step into multiple roles.
Of course, the challenge here will be to find a salary comp for such a player. Last year, Grant had a contract that paid him $2.25 million in guarantees. After the run he had with the Bears, he’ll likely look for a raise. A well-earned one, might I add. Back in 2019, Miami gave Grant a four-year extension. The deal was worth $19.7 million in new money and had $3.72 million in guarantees at signing. Grant should be in a position to top that guarantee number, while also netting a multi-year deal in the process. It is possible that Tarik Cohen’s deal (3 years, $17.25 million, with $9.53 million in guarantees) is a sensible comp. And if it is, the Bears better be ready to use him the way they were hoping to use Cohen when they pushed that deal through.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the declining return of specialists in modern football. However, that doesn’t mean those players can’t still be valuable. Because, as we saw with Patterson in Atlanta, there are enough snaps to get someone some consider to be “gadget players” significant and worthwhile touches. Chicago’s new braintrust could take a lesson from the failures of the past when attacking this offseason. It is easy enough to see what Patterson did with the Falcons, look at Grant, and think hey, we’ve got a guy who can do that kind of stuff, too. Maybe, this time around, the Bears won’t let him explore free agency.