Tag: Jerry Angelo

Changing of the guard in Green Bay: Can the Bears finally take advantage?

The Bears failed to capitalize the last time Green Bay moved on from their franchise QB. Here is why things could be different this time.

The Aaron Rodgers era is officially over for the Green Bay Packers as he’s finally heading east to the New York Jets in a trade that’s been in the works for weeks.

On Monday, it was announced Rodgers would be traded to the Jets involving a bevy of draft picks, giving the 39-year-old quarterback a new home after a period of uncertainty in Green Bay. With Rodgers’ departure comes the end of a dominant division run by the Packers in the NFC North for the last 15 or so years.

Since Rodgers became the full-time starter in Green Bay, the Packers have won the NFC North eight times and made the postseason as a wild card team another three times with varying degrees of playoff success. They also handled the Bears with ease, going 26-5 in the regular season and 1-0 in the postseason. But now with Rodgers gone and Jordan Love taking over, the rivalry is back to a level playing field with the future of the division potentially up for grabs as well.

It’s been 15 years since we’ve seen a changing of the guard in Green Bay, coming back in 2008 when Rodgers took over for Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Even with a roster that was one overtime away from going to Super Bowl XLII, the Packers were in a similar transition period that next season and after a couple of up-and-down years, they defied the odds with Rodgers eclipsing Favre’s greatness.

Back then, the Bears couldn’t take full advantage of the small opening as Rodgers settled in. Even winning the NFC North in the 2010 season couldn’t stop him and the Packers as they defeated the Bears in the playoffs as a wild card team on their way to winning Super Bowl XLV.

This time, however, the Bears are more equipped to compete in the revamped NFC North for the foreseeable future thanks to an ascending quarterback, a young roster, and a front office that is getting players to buy into the process.

Extensions to Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney would snap Bears decade-long drought

The Bears haven’t extended a tight end or wide receiver that they drafted in over 10 years. Here are the last players to get new deals.

The Chicago Bears have decisions to make regarding a few of their veteran players from their 2020 draft class who are now eligible for extensions. Two of those players. tight end Cole Kmet and Darnell Mooney, are each entering their fourth year with the Bears and are eligible to sign an extension to remain with the team after the 2023 season.

Kmet has improved in each season as a professional and is coming off a season in which he led the Bears in catches (50), yards (544) and touchdowns (seven). Mooney, meanwhile, entered the 2022 season as the unquestioned top wide receiver for the Bears. He was looking to build off his first 1,000-yard season, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 12. He still finished the second on the Bears in receptions (40) and yards (493).

The Bears have a chance at not only locking up two key offensive skill players, but skill players who were homegrown as well. It’s something the team hasn’t excelled at in recent years, with no tight ends or wide receivers signing multi-year extensions after being drafted by the Bears in over a decade.

Since then, the Bears have picked 12 receivers and three tight ends through the 2022 season. Here are the last two players to receive multiyear extensions at those positions who were drafted by the team and how their careers fared after the fact.

Matt Forte, Thomas Jones air grievances about former Bears management

“The Last Dance” shined a light on the dark side of professional sports management, and some former Bears shared their own experiences.

The sports world saw its most excitement in over a month when the ESPN docuseries “The Last Dance” premiered on Sunday evening. The 10-part series details the Chicago Bulls’ final championship run back in 1998 and shows never-before-seen footage of one of the most iconic sports teams of all time.

Naturally, nearly every sports fan tuned to watch the first two episodes and had many thoughts on the Bulls, particularly regarding the mistrust between the Bulls players and their front office. A couple former Bears chimed in as well, then shared thoughts on their own team.

Former Bears running back Matt Forte, who played for the team from 2008-15, reacted to a Tweet from retired NFL receiver Torrey Smith, saying Bulls general manager Jerry Krause “ruined one of the greatest teams in any sport” as he reacted to the docuseries. Forte agreed and said it seems to be a common theme in Chicago.

When asked to elaborate, the former Pro-Bowl rusher didn’t hold back, airing his grievances with former Bears general managers Jerry Angelo and Phil Emery. Forte began with Emery, citing the way head coach Lovie Smith was fired in 2012 following a 10-6 season. He was also displeased with how Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher’s tenure ended with the team, along with linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Charles Tillman.

Forte then went on to detail his issues with Angelo, focusing on how his former boss wasn’t faithful in contract negotiations just prior to the 2011 season, Forte’s final year in his rookie deal.

That’s when Thomas Jones, another former Bears running back, entered the conversation to agree with Forte when it came to Angelo. Jones spent three seasons with the Bears from 2004-06 before getting dealt to the New York Jets for a second-round draft pick following the Bears loss in Super Bowl XLI. Like Forte, he has a similar issue with Angelo when it came to negotiating in good faith.

Angelo, who signed Jones as a free agent in 2004 and drafted Forte in the second-round of the 2008 NFL Draft, was fired following the 2011 season. Emery was hired as his replacement and got off to a rocky start with Forte.

The Bears placed the franchise tag on the team’s second all-time leading rusher, before eventually agreeing to a contract extension, giving Forte $32 million over four years with $18 million guaranteed. The two parties avoided a holdout situation heading into training camp. Emery would be fired just two seasons later after a disastrous season in 2014.

Forte apologized for his posts, saying the docuseries reminded him how great his own teams could have been.

Jones also made it clear he has no ill will towards Angelo, saying “it’s just the ugly part of the NFL,” and that he’s grateful for the opportunity he had to play in Chicago.

Getting a peek behind at the curtain at some of the issues that plagued arguably the greatest basketball dynasty ever brings out many emotions. As former players, Forte and Jones brought some of their own issues with team management to light after reacting to “The Last Dance.”

The question is, with millions of fans captivated by the docuseries and still eight episodes to go, what else might be shared by Chicago athletes over the next few weeks?

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