Tag: Eddie Jackson

Bears sign Eddie Jackson to 4-year extension worth $58.4M

The Bears and Eddie Jackson agreed to a 4-year extension worth $58.4 million, making him the highest paid safety in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears wasted no time locking up a key contributor to their defense long-term.

The Bears have signed safety Eddie Jackson to a four-year extension worth $58.4 million with $33 million guaranteed.

Jackson, who still had one year remaining on his rookie deal, will make $14.6 million per season, which makes him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.

In three seasons with the Bears, Jackson is a two-time Pro Bowler and 2018 All-Pro. Jackson had a breakout year in 2018 with six interceptions, including two that he returned for touchdowns.

This season, Jackson had 60 combined tackles, including five for a loss as well as a sack and a forced fumble. He had two interceptions where picks were difficult to come by for the Bears defense.

Jackson, a former fourth-round selection, was the first 2017 draftee to sign an extension this offseason.

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Bears defense the reason Chicago should be optimistic heading into 2020

When grasping for any sort of optimism, the Bears should feel optimistic about their defense heading into 2020.

Contrary to last season, there’s not much optimism facing the Chicago Bears as they head into an important offseason. There certainly won’t be an offseason filled with lofty Super Bowl expectations that will ultimately fall short.

Instead, the Bears are left to fix what went wrong in a disappointing 2019 season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. There’s less to correct on defense, which will be entering its second year under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

But when grasping for any sort of optimism, Bleacher Report believes that the Bears should feel optimistic about their defense heading into 2020.

The Chicago Bears haven’t tallied as many sacks and turnovers as they did last year, but they still boast a top-10 defense in both points and yards allowed. In a league with quarterbacks freely moving the ball through the air, that’s a notable positive.

Although the Bears struggled against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16, giving up 350 yards and 26 points, they have held nine of their opponents to fewer than 21 points this season. They’ve gone 6-3 in those contests, which could be even better with an improved offense.

While the Bears were a disappointment in 2019, it wasn’t due to their defense. Chicago’s defense finished the season allowing the fourth fewest points in the NFL. The one area they struggled to find success was in forcing turnovers — they had 19 in 2019 compared to 36 in 2018 — which will surely be a focus this offseason.

But the Bears will return a cast of players that includes star pass rusher Khalil Mack, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Kyle Fuller.

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Is Ha Ha Clinton-Dix interested in re-signing with Bears?

Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix signed a one-year prove-it deal, and he believes he’s earned a long-term deal. But will it be with the Bears?

When safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix signed with the Chicago Bears last March, he was coming to a dominant defense with an opportunity to prove himself to the rest of the NFL in hopes of nabbing a long-term extension.

Clinton-Dix certainly believes he’s done enough to earn that. But will the Bears be able to afford him, if they want to re-sign him?

“That’s not my decision,” Clinton-Dix said after Sunday’s win over the Vikings. “I don’t know. Right now I just really want to enjoy this win. I’ll worry about the future later. My thing was to play a full 16 games and be committed to those 16 games and let everything else take care of itself. I think that happened.”

There’s one factor that would appeal to Clinton-Dix remaining in Chicago: Eddie Jackson, his former Alabama teammate and partner-in-crime this season.

“I would love to play with this guy for the rest of my career,” Clinton-Dix said. “If he’s not here, I’ll go wherever he goes. But this is a crazy business. You never know what’s gonna happen.”

Clinton-Dix finished the season with 78 tackles, two interceptions, five pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.

General manager Ryan Pace has a lot of important decisions to make this offseason, including in the secondary. Clinton-Dix has at least earned another one-year prove-it deal. That is, if that’s where Pace desires to go.

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Bears’ loss vs. Chiefs can be summed up in one word: ‘Embarrassing’

The Bears’ 26-3 loss to the Chiefs was a microcosm of their 2019 season, a complete disappointment all around.

When describing the Bears’ 26-3 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night, one word sums it up: Embarrassing.

But don’t take my word for it, let the players explain.

“Last home game, prime time, it’s embarrassing,” Eddie Jackson said.

Khalil Mack elaborated further.

“You play games like that on TV, prime time, you want to go out and ball, especially at home,” Mack said. “It’s embarrassing to us. We embarrassed our fans. And ultimately that’s unacceptable.”

It was a fitting end at home for a season that began with an embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers on a primetime stage. Only no one could’ve known that loss was a foreshadowing of what was to come for the Bears in a season that was once ripe with Super Bowl expectations.

The Bears secured their early offseason with a loss last week against the Packers, which shortly after led to their elimination from playoff contention. And yet, there was still plenty to play for. Pride. Jobs. Contract extensions.

But the Bears looked like a group uninspired as they faced off against one of the best teams in the league in the Chiefs — a squad that Bears fans could only dream of their team becoming.

While the Bears offense put on another embarrassing clinic on how not to play football — including abysmal play from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky right down to the offensive line and to play caller Matt Nagy — in a sad way, it was expected. After all, that’s what this offense has shown they are all season.

But it was the defense’s sloppy play that was frustrating. While no one expected them to stop Patrick Mahomes, they certainly helped him with their self-inflicted mistakes, including costly penalties that kept drives alive and allowed Mahomes to do his thing.

“It was definitely sloppy,” Mack said. “There were a lot of things we gave them, especially up front, rushing wise, on the touchdown scramble and a couple third downs he was able to extend the play a little bit. Ultimately, it’s not the type of ball we want to play.”

The Bears still have one game remaining this season before they head into an offseason with plenty of questions to be answered. One of this questions: What type of ball do they want to play?

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Alabama football: 7 former Tide standouts voted to NFL Pro Bowl

Alabama has become a factory for NFL teams looking to add high-quality talent through the draft. The recent voting for the 2019 Pro Bowl is a perfect representation of that notion. On Tuesday night, the rosters were revealed and included seven …

Alabama has become a factory for NFL teams looking to add high-quality talent through the draft. The recent voting for the 2019 Pro Bowl is a perfect representation of that notion.

On Tuesday night, the rosters were revealed and included seven former Crimson Tide standouts, including:

  • Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
  • Mark Ingram, RB, Baltimore Ravens
  • Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
  • Dont’a Hightower, LB, New England Patriots
  • Marlon Humphrey, CB, Baltimore Ravens
  • Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Eddie Jackson, S, Chicago Bears

In addition to those players, other former Alabama standouts, such as Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs and Colts offensive center Ryan Kelly, were named as Pro Bowl alternates.

The Crimson Tide continues its takeover of the NFL.

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NFL Pro Bowl 2020: Bears’ Eddie Jackson, Khalil Mack, Cordarrelle Patterson named to roster

Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Cordarrelle Patterson have been named to the 2020 Pro Bowl.

The 2019 season has been a disappointment for the Chicago Bears as they’ll miss the postseason for the eighth time this decade, but at least three of their players will still have the opportunity to play January football.

Safety Eddie Jackson, kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson and outside linebacker Khalil Mack were named to the NFC squad in the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl.

Punt returner Tarik Cohen, defensive tackle Eddie Goldman and cornerback Kyle Fuller were named alternates.

Jackson, Mack and Patterson are all veterans of the NFL’s all-star game. Jackson, returning for the second-consecutive season, has one interception, one forced fumble and 57 total tackles on the season.

Mack was named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl with 7.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and four pass deflections in his second season with the Bears.

Patterson, heading to his third Pro Bowl during his first season with the Bears, leads the league in total kickoff return yards, is second in kickoff return average, and has one touchdown on the season.

Meanwhile, Cohen, Goldman, and Fuller will have the opportunity to participate in the game if one of the starters elects not to play. Should Goldman have the opportunity to play, it will be his first Pro Bowl while Cohen and Fuller would be returning their second.

The 2020 NFL Pro Bowl takes place Sunday, January 26th at 2 p.m. CT in Orlando, FL.

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Bears tight on cap space as NFL projects salary cap increase as high as $201.2M in 2020

The 2020 NFL salary cap is projected to be between $196.8 and $201.2 million, leaving the Bears just over the salary cap for 2020 right now.

NFL teams are going to have a lot more money to play with this offseason as the 2020 NFL salary cap is projected to be between $196.8 and $201.2 million.

The salary cap is expected to increase by more than $8 million from the current cap of $188.2 million, but it’s still going to be challenging for Bears general manager Ryan Pace heading into a busy offseason.

The Bears have roughly $202 million committed to the salary cap in 2020, according to Over the Cap. Depending on where the NFL and NFLPA agree to set next year’s salary cap, the Bears need to clear between $1.8 and $6.2 million just to get under the projected salary cap.

It won’t be easy for Pace, but he’s managed to get creative in creating cap space. His offseason priorities are locking up some players in-house, including safety Eddie Jackson, receiver Allen Robinson and linebacker Kwiatkoski, who is an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

Among the Bears’ in-house free agents in 2020 are linebacker Danny Trevathan, safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, defensive back/special teams ace Sherrick McManis, defensive tackle Nick Williams, linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis and quarterback Chase Daniel.

Pace could manage extra cap space by releasing players like right guard Kyle Long, cornerback Prince Amukamara and receiver Taylor Gabriel, who combined would give the Bears an extra $20.6 million in cap space, among others.

Chicago has a lot of needs to address this offseason — be it in free agency or the NFL Draft — including tight end, offensive line, edge rusher and backup quarterback.

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4 bold predictions for Bears’ Week 14 matchup vs. Cowboys

Will Mitch Trubisky continue his passing streak? Who will be the newest 100-yard Bears’ receiver? That and more bold predictions vs. Dallas.

The Chicago Bears (6-6) are coming off a 24-20 comeback win over the Detroit Lions (3-8-1), and they’re looking to extend their winning streak to three games against the Dallas Cowboys (6-6) on Thursday Night Football.

The Bears offense resembled an actual offense last week against the Lions, where they got impressive performances out of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and receiver Anthony Miller. Can the offense continue its positive streak? And can the defense contain the Cowboys offense?

Here are four bold predictions for the Bears’ Week 14 matchup:

1. Mitchell Trubisky passes for 300-plus yards for 2nd straight week

Leon Halip/Getty Images

Given the fact that it took Mitchell Trubisky 10 games to finally throw for more than 300 yards, this is certainly a bold prediction considering the Bears offense has been a massive disappointment aside from last Thursday.

Against the Lions, Trubisky completed 29-of-38 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. It was the first time all season you saw him slinging the football down the field, where he found Anthony Miller for 140 yards.

While the Cowboys defense certainly isn’t the Lions defense, Trubisky is coming off his best game of the season and is bringing that confidence back to Soldier Field for some Thursday night action. If Matt Nagy allows Trubisky to just go out there and play, we could see a repeat of last week in terms of yardage.

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Bears defense stumbles, then shuts down Lions third-string QB David Blough

The Bears’ defense struggled to stop third-string QB David Blough in the first quarter before coming up clutch in the fourth quarter.

With the Detroit Lions down to their third-string quarterback David Blough, everyone expected the Chicago Bears defense to take care of business.

Instead, the defense struggled on the Lions’ first two possessions where they allowed a pair of Blough touchdowns and the Bears found themselves down 17-7 in the first 11 minutes of Thursday’s 24-20 comeback win over the Lions.

“We would never put that past anybody, thinking they wouldn’t come to play,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said, via the Chicago Tribune. “This is the NFL. You have to come to play. We just came to the sidelines and had to regroup. It was really nothing he did. It was on us. We came out sluggish the first two drives. We came back to the sideline and had to regroup.”

After Blough’s first-quarter touchdowns, the Bears defense regrouped and allowed just two Matt Prater field goals in the final three quarters.

But it was early in the fourth quarter with the Lions facing a third-and-one at the Bears’ 5-yard line where cornerback Kyle Fuller came up with a game-changing stop of Lions running back J.D. McKissic for no gain. That forced the Lions to settle for a Prater field goal to jump ahead 20-17 rather than by a touchdown.

“That was huge, probably the biggest play of the game as far as the situation goes,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “To make a shoestring tackle like that on third-and-1, that is an absolute game changer.”

After the Bears’ offense orchestrated a nine-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a Mitchell Trubisky to David Montgomery go-ahead touchdown, it was up to Chicago’s defense to come up with a stop.

With the Lions driving at Chicago’s 27, the defense came up with two back-to-back stops on third and fourth down. On third-and-nine, linebacker Roquan Smith sacked Blough for a loss of 13 yards. Faced with a fourth-and-22 with :29 left, Blough heaved a desperation pass for receiver Kenny Golladay, where Jackson came down with his first interception of the season that sealed the victory for the Bears.

It was Jackson’s second interception in as many Thanksgiving games, although it wasn’t a pick-six like last year, it was a crucial play when the Bears needed it.

“Yeah, it was a free one,” Jackson said. “I really wanted to score, but I did the right thing.”

The Bears’ defense struggled against the rookie Blough, who was making his first career start, in the first quarter — particularly cornerback Prince Amukamara, who allowed that 75-yard touchdown reception for Golladay on the first Lions’ drive.

But ultimately, the Bears’ defense settled in and were able to shut down Blough and the Lions’ offense when they needed to in order to secure Chicago’s second straight win — and fourth consecutive victory against the Lions.

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5 takeaways from Bears’ 24-20 comeback win over Lions

The Bears defeated the Lions 24-20, as they improved to 6-6 on the season. There was plenty to digest from this Thanksgiving game.

The calendar may have said Thanksgiving, but it was beginning to feel a lot like September as the Chicago Bears have a winning streak for the first time in two months, beating the Detroit Lions 24-20 to improve to 6-6 on the season.

Both teams landed blows on their first two drives, scoring touchdowns to make the score 7-7. The Lions attempted to pull away but never led by more than 10 points. Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky then led his team to touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarter, putting the Bears ahead for good, while the defense survived a last-ditch effort from rookie quarterback David Blough, making his first NFL debut on the national stage.

Like sides at a Thanksgiving dinner, there were many different takeaways from this game, such as the continued strong play of inside linebacker Roquan Smith, what’s going on with special teams and Chris Tabor, how the referees could miss a blatant roughing the passer call on Trubisky, or how valuable wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is to this team. But here are my 5 takeaways that stuck out to me most during this latest Bears win.

1. Mitchell Trubisky finally played like it was 2018

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Ever since he suffered his shoulder injury back in 2018 when the Bears defeated the Vikings, Trubisky simply hasn’t been the same. Prior to the injury, he had been on a heater, throwing for over 300 yards four times in six weeks and averaging a quarterback rating of 112.3 during that span.

After over a year, he finally returned to that form, at least for one game, throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns with a 118.1 quarterback rating. For the most part, Trubisky looked sharp, leading the Bears to their first opening-drive touchdown since Week 4 and orchestrating a 90-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter that ended up being the game winner.

His day wasn’t perfect, as he did look timid at times while running and under-threw wide receiver Allen Robinson on a crossing route, resulting in an interception, but it’s clear this was easily his best game since last year’s win against the Lions at Soldier Field. The question is, can he build on it and string together these types of performances to mount one final playoff push?

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