NEWSLETTER
The Bachelor does a nice job bridging the gap from football season to spring. But it always leaves me wondering what am I to do without friend get-togethers to watch the show on Mondays?
• It feels like we’ll soon get a resolution on the Terron Armstead sweepstakes. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be the ending a for which a number of Bears fans are rooting:
Speaking of big tackles… could have a conclusion on Terron Armstead today…. https://t.co/jFS9cot4B8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 21, 2022
Chances are good that a deal between the Dolphins and Terron Armstead gets done, per league source familiar with the situation. There's a motivation by both sides to work something out. The medical, of course, is a significant component.
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) March 21, 2022
• If Armstead goes to the Dolphins after the Bengals locked in right tackle La’el Collins to a three-year contract worth $30 million (which ESPN’s Adam Schefter says essentially boils down to a 2/$20M deal), it’ll sting for those hoping the Bears’ offseason investments came in the form of bolstering the offensive line.
• Armstead was one of the most interesting free agents on the market, who fit the Bears both immediately and in the long-term. Those types of free agents don’t come around too often at the tackle spot. So there shouldn’t be much hesitation whether to strike or hold your ground.
• Let it be known that I don’t want to discount the reasons as to why the Bears wouldn’t be in on signing Collins or Armstead. They’re real. And worth discussing. Maybe Chicago isn’t into Armstead’s medicals. After all, he has never played a full healthy season. That probably pops up as a yellow flag on his résumé. Collins is coming off a season that began with a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Perhaps the team isn’t into investing heavily at the position right now. Throwing a bunch of cash in Year 1 of a rebuild comes with considerable risk. Then again, just because the Bears are rebuilding doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be looking to bring in talent. Those two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive.
• With that in mind, let’s check out the latest and greatest from the Bears’ projected starting lineup based on the roster as currently constructed:
Good morning. This is what the Chicago Bears starting lineup would look like right now. Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Lots of work to do, to be sure. But at least last week's signings mean we're no longer starting ¯_(ツ)_/¯ at multiple positions. pic.twitter.com/46pOpSWcxv
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) March 21, 2022
• I’ll say this for Poles: The depth signings are the ones I’m digging. Competition among the receivers featuring Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown should make for good camp watching. Lucas Patrick brings versatility to the offensive line that this group hadn’t had in a while. Remember when converted nose tackle Rashaad Coward was Chicago’s top reserve lineman option? It doesn’t soften the blow of watching the window to add impact free agents who could be helpful on a short-term and long-term basis close
• The good news is that we’re no longer set to start ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at multiple positions. But on the other hand, one look at this lineup serves as a reminder that there is still so much work to be done.
• And because there is still so much to be done in the free agent market, the odds of the Bears netting a compensatory draft pick in 2023 are pretty much out the window:
The Bears are in a bit of a compensatory pick predicament. The roster situation is not making it easy on GM Ryan Poles. This is quite the group of FAs to leave (with Hicks, Ifedi, Dalton still pending), but there are too many players Poles has to sign (chart via @nickkorte) pic.twitter.com/jopOSDCDo9
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) March 21, 2022
• If the Poles was angling to build this thing out through the draft, then maybe he should’ve been targeting cap casualties who didn’t count against the compensatory pick formula instead of traditional free agents. Even still, the Bears have so many roster spots to fill that it might not even matter. Part of me wonders if, in the grand scheme of things, losing Larry Ogunjobi and signing two free agents actually wound up HURTing the Bears more in this case. Then again, what truly hurts the most is that Ryan Pace was retained long enough for this to be the fallout. Oye!
• Kristopher Knox (Bleacher Report) has ideas for moves every team should be targeting in free agency. Although, the suggestion of Chicago signing pass rusher Justin Houston is the least sensible of the bunch. The Bears just brought in Al-Quadin Muhammad to put on the other side of Robert Quinn. Muhammad replaces Khalil Mack in position only because, let’s be honest with ourselves, there is no replacing that guy. But what you can do is bridge the gap until your team unearths another impact pass-rusher (ha! like those grow on trees.) with a younger player. Preferably, someone with some untapped upside who will give you a full year’s worth of snaps. If this was MLB, I’d offer up the idea of signing Houston as a sign-and-flip candidate at the trade deadline. But NFL doesn’t operate in that manner.
• Happy NHL Trade Deadline Day!
REPORT: Blackhawks, Wild Strike a Deal to Send Marc-André Fleury to Minnesotahttps://t.co/S7OEtYsjW1 pic.twitter.com/vCvQpGXp1C
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 21, 2022
Deadline Day is Here, Raddysh Scores First Blackhawks Goal, Katchouk Speaks, Latest on Fleury, and Other Blackhawks Bulletshttps://t.co/j4FmGMrHiu pic.twitter.com/4MDxCXT1yw
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 21, 2022
• One of my favorite Bulls players is calling it a career:
Former-Bull and 3x Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford Has Officially Retiredhttps://t.co/KUOlbXL8Is pic.twitter.com/Kajm5vmFtd
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 21, 2022
• Some Bulls and Bears crossover content:
I had the privilege of speaking to the @chicagobulls today.
Refuse to go home early! pic.twitter.com/tW3xk3kKFh— Mike Singletary (@MSing50official) March 20, 2022
• Kosuke Fukudome … now, that is a name I’ve not heard in a long time:
Kosuke Fukudome is STILL Playing, Still Homering, Still Bat-Tossing – https://t.co/6F5J47DeU1 pic.twitter.com/m5baWPI4By
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) March 20, 2022
