I Randomly Miss Roy Robertson-Harris (And Other Bears Bullets)
My alma mater plays a relatively important men’s college basketball game this afternoon at UIC. Unless the math ain’t mathin’, a win gives my beloved Salukis a bye into Friday’s Arch Madness action. And if the chips fall in their favor, then SIU could be a No. 3 seed — putting them in the Friday night primetime slot. If that happens, it would give a day full of shenanigans with friends in St. Louis. So, yeah, I’ll be rooting extra hard this afternoon.
After all, something has to hold me over until Bears football grips my soul this fall.
- An old friend gets the bag (again) from his new team:
- Ryan Pace and his staff had their shortcomings. But that regime’s ability to find Day 3 talent and sign UDFAs who developed into contributors was top-notch. And Roy Robertson-Harris was one of those diamond-in-the-rough findings for Pace and pals. Now, the Jacksonville Jaguars will (continue to) reap the benefits of his development.
- Sigh. I sure wish the Bears had a defensive lineman like RRH on their roster. Not even just from a production standpoint, although the 3 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 7 tackles-for-loss would make for a nice rotational defensive lineman that you can never have enough of in this league. But also, from the perspective of a fan who likes watching the career arcs of players who grind their way up from the bottom. Robertson-Harris went from undrafted free agent switching positions, to bit player, to key reserve, to being worthy of a multi-year deal and a bigger chunk of playing time with another team, to a second contract with that team. The RRH arc was fun to follow. And I can’t wait to unearth the next one in Chicago. (Looking at you, Jack Sanborn!)
- Also, the Jaguars are $12.4 million over the cap, per OverTheCap.com’s calculations. The RRH extension could free up some cap space if drawn up properly. In the meantime, this has us putting our eyes on Jacksonville’s cap situation. That team might be limited in what it can do to retain or go after players when the new league year begins and free agency opens its doors. With that in mind, I’ll be curious to see if the Jags can clear enough space to bring back offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor and/or tight end Evan Engram. Both players could conceivably be Bears free agency targets next month.
- We’re at 60 days before the NFL Draft. This gives us ample time for teams to throw out a number of bluffs and misdirection plays. In other words, expect to see tweets like this sprinkled throughout the NFL beats between now and draft day:
- Over at BN’s NFL wing, Patrick is following the Rams’ quest to clear cap space. Because after cutting ties with Bobby Wagner, the team is reportedly exploring a trade of stud cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Patrick explains:
Ramsey has a $25.2 million cap number in 2023. Trading Ramsey would provide the Rams with more desperately needed cap space. Ramsey is set to make $14.5 million in 2023 and $15.5 million in 2024 in the final two years of his extension with the Rams.
If the Rams traded Ramsey before June 1, they would have a $19.6 million cap saving with $5.6 million in dead money in 2023.
- You know what team could use help in the secondary and can take on a huge salary? The Bears. Don’t give me that look. I know you were thinking it, too.
- Remember when the Browns took on Brock Osweiler’s contract to get draft capital? I remember. So while I’m not necessarily an advocate of copycatting the Browns, taking this kind of swing is something I’d be very into from a Bears perspective. Maybe it’s not Ramsey and the Rams. Admittedly, that feels like a challenge for a fit that I’m not sure is totally there. But I’m all for creativity. Perhaps there is a deal to cut with some other teams looking to clear cap space. The Bucs ($56.5M) and Chargers ($20.5M) are among the teams with the most cap space to clear to get out of the red. Maybe there is something there to consider? I mean, beyond the Keenan Allen and Mike Evans-Chris Godwin stuff we’ve already discussed.
- Would the Saints ($30.898M over the cap as of this posting) be wild enough to trade Taysom Hill? A post-June 1 Hill trade would clear $9.9 million in cap space. To be clear, I’m not pushing a Hill trade to solve the Bears’ receiver woes, maybe they can get some draft capital and a player who could be useful as a gadget guy who could also be a reserve QB option. Taking a one-year hit on that wouldn’t be the worst way to use short-term cap space. How problematic would it be if the Bears were to take on Michael Thomas’ re-structured contract in a deal? I have plenty of questions, but we probably won’t start getting answers until the start of the new league year in 17 days.
- Adam Rank is one of my favorite NFL personalities and I’m totally here to let him cook up a winning offseason for the Bears:
- This was a fun read: 10 Chicago Bears pro wrestling comps. (Bears Wire)
- Old friend Bill Lazor, who was Matt Nagy’s play caller for a little bit at the end of that run, found a coaching job with the Texans, per reporter Aaron Wilson.
- Lamar Jackson’s tag situation is something we’ll continue watching from afar:
- I’m not even sure what the NFL equivalent of this would be:
