Tag: bears linebackers

Former Bears ILB Nick Kwiatkoski headed to the Raiders

Following an impressive 2019 season, former Bears ILB Nick Kwiatkoski has found a new home with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Following an impressive 2019 season, former Chicago Bears inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski was set to become a popular target in free agency.

It didn’t take long for Kwiatkoski to land with a new team. Kwiatkoski tweeted a photo of Las Vegas Stadium, which was a not-so-subtle way to announce he was signing with the Las Vegas Raiders.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport confirmed the news soon after.

Details of Kwiatkoski’s deal haven’t been announced at this time.

Kwiatkoski, a former fourth-round pick that developed into an NFL starter, shined in relief of an injured Danny Trevathan in 2019. Kwiatkoski had career highs with 76 combined tackles, three sacks, four pass breakups and a safety, as well as one forced fumble. He proved to be one of the better defenders down the stretch for the Bears.

The Bears ultimately chose Danny Trevathan, who they signed to a three-year extension last week, over Kwiatkoski. Perhaps it had to do with money, or maybe Chicago elected to stick with one of their defensive leaders that was playing his best football prior to a fluke elbow injury in Week 10 last season.

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Should the Bears re-sign ILB Danny Trevathan?

While extending Danny Trevathan looked to be an easy decision early on for the Bears, Nick Kwiatkoski’s performance changed things.

The Bears have some important decisions to make about some of their pending free agents this offseason, especially at the linebacker position.

Ultimately, the Bears can only re-sign Danny Trevathan or Nick Kwiatkoski to line up opposite Roquan Smith. While it looked to be an easy decision early on in 2019, Trevathan’s injury in Week 10 and Kwiatkoski’s subsequent impressive performance changed things.

So what does the future hold for Trevathan with the Bears? Here’s what ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson had to say:

Trevathan just finished up a solid four-year stint in Chicago, but the soon-to-be-30-year-old has a history of injuries. He has missed 16 games since signing with the Bears prior to the 2015 season, including the final seven weeks of 2019. When healthy, Trevathan is an effective leader on defense. But the Bears have the option of attempting to re-sign younger linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (another free agent), who played very well in place of Trevathan. That could be the direction Chicago heads.

There’s no denying the importance of Trevathan’s presence on the Bears both as a leader and at the inside linebacker position. But when it comes down to it, Kwiatkoski is the younger and cheaper option with no injury history.

What do you think? Should the Bears re-sign Trevathan or go with Kwiatkoski?

VOTE!

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