The other day, I started a series about how the Chicago Bears may look at free agency and how they may attack it beginning next month. The first two position groups we talked about were defensive end and center. Today, I will discuss another important need for the Bears that will likely need to be addressed in Free Agency: safety.
On Thursday, the Bears released long-time free safety Eddie Jackson. In the NFL, a player must give back to the team in production what he is making in salary. Last year, Jackson was making around $14 Million, but he did not produce up to the level of his deal. Because of that, he became expendable. With Jackson gone, the Bears have a need for free safety, and with the Draft not being the strongest at the safety position, it looks as if the Bears may need that position filled during free agency.
Unfortunately, the free agent class is not that great either. There are two players that would upgrade the position dramatically, but with the needs the Bears have, I can’t see them spending the amount of money it would cost to sign either. Yes, the Bears have nearly $70M in cap space, but a team can only get so much done with that amount of money. They can’t give huge contracts to a player to fill a need at every position.
On Thursday, the Bears released long-time free safety Eddie Jackson. In the NFL, a player must give back to the team in production what he is making in salary. Last year, Jackson was making around $14 Million, but he did not produce up to the level of his deal. Because of that, he became expendable. With Jackson gone, the Bears have a need for free safety, and with the Draft not being the strongest at the safety position, it looks as if the Bears may need that position filled during free agency.
Unfortunately, the free agent class is not that great either. There are two players that would upgrade the position dramatically, but with the needs the Bears have, I can’t see them spending the amount of money it would cost to sign either. Yes, the Bears have nearly $70M in cap space, but a team can only get so much done with that amount of money. They can’t give huge contracts to a player to fill a need at every position.
The two best players that could be available in free agency are Tampa Bay’s Antoine Winfield and Arizona’s Budda Baker. According to the Salary cap website Spotrac, Winfield’s new contract should be in the area of $18.4 Million a year. If the Bears sign a top Edge player, I just can’t see them spending that much on a safety.
Budda Baker made about $14.7 M last year, so he is going to cost at least 10% more than that figure. Again, way too high for the Bears to get what they need to get done.
Other safeties who would be upgrades over Jackson and not cost nearly as much as Baker and Winfield are the following:
Julian Blackmon – Colts
Blackmon was a former third-round pick for the Colts in 2020 out of Utah (so he played with Jaylon Johnson) and is 26 years old. As a rookie, he started 14 games with Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus as the defensive coordinator. In ’21 Blackmon started the first six games but then suffered an Achilles injury and was lost for the rest of the season. In the last two seasons, he has started 26 of 28 games played. He has good ball production with seven career interceptions and, of course, is very familiar with Matt Eberflus’s scheme. He could very well be a player the Bears target. Spotrac has not posted an estimated value yet.
.J. Gardner-Johnson – Lions
In the 2022 NFL season, Gardner-Johnson was one of the stars of the Philadelphia Eagles defense that got to a Super Bowl. During the ’22 season, he had six interceptions and was a force vs the run. For some reason, he did not get much attention In free agency last year and ended up signing a 1-year contract with Detroit. While he was expected to start, he had some injury concerns that limited his play (knee, shoulder). Still, when he was on the field he was productive. At 26 years of age, he could be a viable candidate for the Bears. Like Blackmon, Spotrac has not posted an estimated value yet.
Darnell Savage – Packers
Savage will be 27 when camp begins and is a former first-round pick of Green Bay. In his five seasons with the Pack, he has started 69 games and has recorded nine interceptions. Last year, he missed seven games with a calf injury. Savage is a good player, not a great one, but his overall play is better than Jackson’s as he has similar ball skills and plays the run and tackles better than Jackson
Mike Edwards – Chiefs
Edwards was originally a third-round pick with Tampa Bay in 2020 and played there four seasons. He signed with Kansas City last year during free agency. He has started only 28 games in his five-year career but has gotten considerable playtime as a backup and in the various sub-packages. He has averaged over 600 snaps a year since he was a rookie. Like the others, Mike has good ball skills and has recorded eight interceptions during his career.
Taylor Rapp – Bills
Rapp is a former second-round pick with the Rams in 2019. He started 48 games with the Rams in his four years there. He missed seven games in 2020 with an injury but otherwise has been healthy. Last year, he signed a one-year contract with Buffalo and played as a backup but still started four games because of various injuries to the starters. Rapp is a very physical player with good ball skills (10 interceptions). He doesn’t have the timed speed teams look for (4.7) but plays much faster. He has great instincts and finds the ball. Spotrac says Rapp is worth $5.5M per year.
Geno Stone – Ravens
Like Blackmon, Stone may be the other most interesting guy on this list and probably the most expensive. Stone was a seventh-round pick for the Ravens in 2020, and with the Ravens roster being as deep as it is, he had to wait his turn to play. While he has played in just about every game the last three seasons, he has only started 19 total games with 11 of those coming this past season.
Last season was a breakout year for Stone, as he recorded 68 total tackles and seven interceptions. He also had nine PBUs. At 5’11”, Stone isn’t the tallest guy, but he has good strength and bulk (210 pounds) and is a hard hitter. Spotrac estimated his contract value will be in the $7.2 M per year area.
Next up will be my look at wide receivers early next week.
