Tag: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

Who’s next in line for a contract extension with Bears?

Safety Eddie Jackson’s four-year extension was the first of several moves Bears GM Ryan Pace is expected to make in-house this offseason.

The Chicago Bears wasted no time inking two-time Pro Bowl safety Eddie Jackson to a massive four-year contract extension on Friday — worth $58.4 million with $33 million guaranteed — making him the NFL’s highest-paid safety.

It was the first of several moves general manager Ryan Pace is expected to make in-house this offseason prior to free agency on March 16.

Here are six players that could be next in line for a contract extension with the Bears:

1. WR Allen Robinson

AP Photo/Adam Hunger

Receiver Allen Robinson has expressed his desire to retire a Chicago Bear, and the team certainly will honor his request, at least for the foreseeable future. Robinson has one year left on his three-year deal, and he’s proven to be a clear-cut No. 1 receiver for this team.

In 2019, Robinson had 98 catches for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the Bears’ first 1,000-yard receiver since Alshon Jeffery in 2014.

But it’s the circumstances that Robinson has achieved his success that speaks louder than even some of his stats. The Bears offense was one of the worst in the NFL, and Robinson still managed to thrive with poor quarterback play and teams knowing that he was going to be the go-to target.

Robinson should be the next guy the Bears lock down. Period.

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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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Which in-house free agent should be Bears’ top priority on defense?

Bears GM Ryan Pace has plenty of work to do in locking up in-house free agents. But should S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix be his priority on defense?

The Chicago Bears have a busy offseason ahead of them, and it all starts following Sunday’s finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

General manager Ryan Pace has a ton of work to do this offseason, particularly in-house with players set to hit free agency. His priority should be to re-sign current players.

While the Bears offense has plenty of room to grow, Chicago’s defense can’t say the same. They’ve allowed the fifth fewest points in the NFL this season, and they have a nice core in place. They’ll certainly benefit from the return of some healthy starters in 2020.

But there are some essential extensions that Pace needs to make happen on the defensive side of the ball, among them defensive tackle Nick Williams and linebackers Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis.

As for who should be the biggest priority, that guy is safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, according to Bleacher Report.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix may not be the best safety set to hit the free-agent market, but his physical style of play fits the Chicago Bears defense perfectly.

Clinton-Dix has thrived in his first season with the Bears—he has 74 tackles, five passes defended, two interceptions and a defensive touchdown—and it makes sense to bring him back for another.

While Clinton-Dix doesn’t have sensational numbers, he’s fared well for the Bears as Adrian Amos’ much cheaper replacement. Clinton-Dix has two interceptions this season — both coming against the Washington Redskins in Week 3 — which ranks second on the Bears. He’s done enough to warrant an extension from Chicago.

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4 bold predictions for Bears’ Week 17 matchup vs. Vikings

Can the Bears offense slow down a hungry Vikings defense? Will Khalil Mack deliver a repeat performance? My final bold predictions for 2019.

The Chicago Bears (7-8) will face the Minnesota Vikings (10-5) in their season finale Sunday, and for many it’s a season that they can’t wait to come to an end.

Following the Super Bowl expectations ahead of the regular-season opener, the Bears have stumbled through their 2019 campaign, where the offense had one of its worst outputs in franchise history.

While the Bears aren’t playing for playoff contention, they’ll be looking to end things on a high note and look towards, hopefully, a much brighter 2020 season.

Here are my final four bold predictions for the Bears’ as they wrap their 2019 season against the Vikings:

1. Bears offense will hold Vikings defense to zero takeaways

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

There’s no defense that is forcing more turnovers in the past couple of games than the Vikings, who have garnered 10 takeaways in the last two games — seven against the Chargers and three against the Packers — which is four more than any other team in that same span. They’ve forced eight fumbles (recovered six of them) and have four interceptions in the past two weeks.

So the Bears offense definitely has its hands full as it prepares to face a Vikings defense that is peaking just ahead of its postseason berth. The Bears have turned the ball over three times in the past two games — all three of them coming against the Packers. Mitchell Trubisky tossed two interceptions (although one was a Hail Mary at the end of the first half) and David Montgomery lost a costly fumble.

The Bears are coming off a game where they didn’t turn the ball over against the Chiefs. Although we saw how well playing it safe worked out for Chicago.

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Ha Ha Clinton-Dix looking to continue revenge tour in Green Bay

When Ha Ha Clinton-Dix returned to Washington in Week 3, he had 2 INTs. He’ll be looking for similar success against Green Bay on Sunday.

When the Chicago Bears faced the Washington Redskins in Week 3, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was a force to be reckoned with. The Bears safety had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

It was Clinton-Dix’s first game against his former team since he decided to sign with the Bears last March. It was also the first stop in his revenge tour, not that he’ll admit it.

Clinton-Dix will be looking to do the same against the team that drafted him — and then traded him to Washington in Week 9 last season — when the Bears travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Not that Clinton-Dix expects another two-interception game against a former team. Especially not against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown just two interceptions all season.

“If A-Rod decides to bless me and throw me the ball twice, I’ll be happy as hell,” Clinton-Dix said. “But unfortunately A-Rod doesn’t work that way. He’s the best quarterback in the game, and we just have to go out and execute and eliminate the big plays.”

The Bears were able to do just that in the season opener — eliminate big plays — minus one. While the defense more than did its job — holding Rodgers and the Packers offense to just 10 points — it was one big play that set up Green Bay’s only touchdown of the game.

Despite moving to the opposite side of the storied Bears-Packers rivalry, Clinton-Dix is looking forward to returning to Green Bay, where he spent his first 4.5 seasons.

“It means a lot,” he said. “Just to go back and be able to play against the guys that I’ve been with for the past five years, and able to compete against your friends. It makes the games more fun and more competitive.”

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4 bold predictions for Bears’ Week 15 matchup vs. Packers

Bears vs. Packers is always different. Anything can happen, including these four bold predictions.

The Chicago Bears (7-6) are riding a three-game winning streak and, most importantly, confidence heading into Sunday’s game against rivals Green Bay Packers (10-3) at Lambeau Field.

While things didn’t go as planned in the season opener, where the Packers squeaked out a 10-3 win, this time the Bears are ready to face their foes with playoff aspirations on the line.

Bears-Packers is always different. Anything can happen, including these four bold predictions.

1. Leonard Floyd will record 2 sacks

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

No one likes playing the Packers more than linebacker Leonard Floyd, who in 5 games against Green Bay has logged 7.5 sacks. In three of those games, Floyd registered 2 sacks.

While Floyd hasn’t lived up to expectations as an edge rusher opposite Khalil Mack, he does always manage to show up against the Packers — that is, when he’s healthy. In the season opener, Floyd accounted for 2 of the Bears’ 5 sacks of Aaron Rodgers. Chicago’s defense managed to contain Rodgers and the Packers’ offense, giving up just one touchdown.

The Bears will need Floyd, who has 4.5 sacks in the last two games against Green Bay, to, once again show up against the Packers with Chicago’s season on the line. And while I wouldn’t bet on Floyd’s long-term future with the Bears, I will be on Floyd getting after Rodgers on Sunday.

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WATCH: Bears’ defense forces pair of takeaways on Rams’ first two possessions

The Bears defense has forced turnovers on the Rams’ first two offensive possessions.

In a game that’s expected to a defensive showdown, the Chicago Bears got things started early.

On the first play of the Los Angeles Rams’ opening possession, Bears safety Eddie Jackson forced a fumble of Rams running back Todd Gurley on the Los Angeles 38-yard line. Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix recovered the fumble, which gave the Bears the ball at the Los Angeles 46-yard line.

The Bears ran 7 plays for 15 yards and were unable to convert the takeaway into points. On fourth-and-nine, the Bears opted to go for it rather than kick a 49-yard field goal.

Kicker Eddy Pineiro had missed a 48-yard attempt on Chicago’s opening possession. Pineiro is 4 for his last 7 on field goals, and he missed an extra point last week.

On Los Angeles’ second series, they were driving down the field before linebacker Roquan Smith intercepted Rams quarterback Jared Goff at the Chicago 27-yard line.

That was Smith’s second interception of Goff in the last two meetings. He recorded an interception in last season’s meeting on Dec. 9, 2018.

The Bears and Rams are scoreless near the end of the first quarter.