Tag: bears grades

Grading the Bears’ signing of DL DeMarcus Walker

DeMarcus Walker had a career year in 2022 and cashed in with the Bears. Will he sustain that success or was it an outlier?

The Chicago Bears were lacking on their defensive line in 2022 and made a move in free agency to hopefully improve in that area. The team signed former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker to a three-year, $21 million deal with $16 million guaranteed.

Walker was drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and was fairly quiet his first couple of years. He improved significantly in 2019 and 2020 and joined the Houston Texans in 2021 before spending 2022 with the Titans. Walker had his best season last year as a rotational player, totaling 32 tackles, 10 for a loss, and seven sacks, all of which were career highs.

Now, Walker comes to the Bears hoping to build on his success while helping the team improve their pass rush. Here is our initial grade of the move.

Grading the Bears’ signing of RB Travis Homer

Travis Homer won’t be much of a threat in the running game, but he could be invaluable as a pass blocker and on special teams.

Running back was the focus for the Chicago Bears on Tuesday evening. After they said goodbye to veteran David Montgomery, who signed with the Detroit Lions, they agreed to a deal with former Seattle Seahawks running back Travis Homer. The deal is for two years worth up to $4.5 million.

Homer comes to the Bears after four seasons in Seattle as a reserve running back and special teams contributor. In 2022, he totaled 74 rushing yards on 19 carries, as well as 16 receptions for 157 yards and one touchdown. On special teams, Homer had nine tackles and one forced fumble. For the time being, he’ll slot in behind Khalil Herbert in the running back rotation.

The move to bring in Homer wasn’t a home run like many expected (pun intended), but will he be a significant contributor on Sundays this season? Here is our initial grade of the move.

Grading the Bears’ signing of G Nate Davis

The Bears upgraded the guard position with Nate Davis, but where will he play? Here’s our initial grade of the signing.

Defense may have stolen the headlines during the Chicago Bears’ first day of the free agent negotiating window, but they beefed up their offensive line as well. The Bears signed former Tennessee Titans guard Nate Davis to a multi-year deal on Monday afternoon, putting him in line to start at one of the guard positions on the line.

Davis was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft and worked his way towards becoming the Titans starting right guard. After Week 4, Davis was entrenched as the right guard and played a significant role as a run blocker in running back Derrick Henry’s success over the last few seasons.

The arrival of Davis can certainly be viewed as an upgrade, but what does it mean for the other interior linemen? Here is our initial grade of the signing.

Grading the Bears’ signing of LB Tremaine Edmunds

Tremaine Edmunds is Ryan Poles’ first lucrative signing he’s made as Bears GM. Here’s our initial grade of the move.

The Chicago Bears prioritized the linebacker position during the first day of the NFL’s free agent negotiating window, agreeing to a deal with Tremaine Edmunds. The former Buffalo Bills star joined T.J. Edwards at the position, who signed just a few hours prior, as the team’s prized free agent at this point in the offseason.

Edmunds was drafted by the Bills in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft when they traded up to select him. He’s eclipsed 100 tackles in each of his five seasons in the league and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2019 and 2020. During his final season in Buffalo in 2022, Edmunds notched 102 total tackles, including six for a loss, one sack, one interception, and seven passes defensed.

General manager Ryan Poles made sure to shore up the linebacker position with Edwards and Edmunds, but paid a premium for the latter. Here’s our initial grade of the signing.

Bears trade for Chase Claypool: Experts hand out grades for Chicago

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ trade for Claypool, where experts were divided about whether this was the best move.

The Chicago Bears made a splash ahead of the NFL trade deadline, acquiring receiver Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers for their own second-round pick.

It’s a move that benefits quarterback Justin Fields, who now has a weapon in Claypool who can stretch the field as the offense looks to make continued progress. Sure, the price for Claypool (a potential top-40 pick) is the one thing that has people questioning the move. But it showed that GM Ryan Poles is prioritizing Fields’ development, which is all fans can hope for at this point.

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ trade for Claypool, where experts were divided about whether this was the best move for Chicago.

Bears trade Roquan Smith: Experts hand out grades for Chicago

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ trade of Roquan Smith, where experts applauded the move by Chicago.

The Chicago Bears made a blockbuster trade sending star linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens. Chicago received a 2023 second- and fifth-round picks in return, as well as linebacker A.J. Klein.

While the Robert Quinn trade was expected, the Smith trade was more surprising. Even despite the very public contract dispute earlier this summer, GM Ryan Poles made it clear he wanted to re-sign Smith to a contract extension. But both sides couldn’t agree, and the writing certainly appeared to be on the wall.

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ trade of Roquan Smith, where experts applauded the move for Chicago.

Bears trade Robert Quinn: Experts hand out grades for Chicago

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ trade of Robert Quinn, where most experts loved the move for Chicago.

The Chicago Bears made a blockbuster trade sending Pro Bowl pass rusher Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles. Chicago received a 2023 fourth-round pick in return, which will help general manager Ryan Poles as he continues to rebuild this roster.

It’s a move that didn’t come as too big of a surprise considering the Bears are in the middle of a rebuild, where Poles has already parted ways with expensive, aging veterans.

While Quinn’s veteran presence will certainly be missed, Poles explained that his job is to think about the team now and beyond. Which is exactly why this is a move that needed to happen.

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ trade of Robert Quinn, where most experts loved the move for Chicago.

Grading the Bears’ trade of DE Robert Quinn to the Eagles

The Bears finally made the move to deal Robert Quinn, sending him to the Eagles for a 4th-round pick. Here’s our initial grade of the trade.

The long saga of Robert Quinn’s future with the Chicago Bears came to a merciful end on Wednesday when the former All-Pro pass rusher was dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Quinn had been the subject of trade talks dating all the way back to earlier in the offseason after general manager Ryan Poles decided to move on from defensive standouts such as Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. Quinn was coming off a historic season in which he set the franchise record for sacks in  a season with 18.5 in 2021. He was the last domino to fall, though, and now goes to a contender in hopes of capturing a Super Bowl title. He finishes his season with the Bears with seven total tackles and one sack.

The trade leaves the Bears short a dynamic pass rusher, but gives them flexibility in the upcoming draft. Here’s how we’re grading the midseason move.

Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in their Week 6 loss

Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during Sunday’s game and how we graded the Bears in their loss to the Packers.

The Chicago Bears suffered another frustrating defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, which dropped Chicago to 3-3 on the season and halted the momentum they’d gained after back-to-back wins.

There was plenty of good — early pressure on Aaron Rodgers and Khalil Herbert’s breakout — and bad — defense’s struggles against Green Bay’s run game and the offense’s overall execution — in the loss.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Bears in this loss.

Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in their Week 3 loss

We’re grading the Bears following their brutal Week 3 loss to the Browns, and it’s not good for the offense or Matt Nagy.

The Chicago Bears suffered a brutal defeat to the Cleveland Browns, which was the direct result of Chicago’s dismal offense that managed just 47 yards in Justin Fields’ first NFL start.

While the defense was sloppy in the second half, they were on the field for nearly 40 minutes and kept the Bears in the game longer than possible. And Matt Nagy, well, he had his worst performance as a head coach/play caller in his four years in Chicago.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Bears in this loss.