Rozner: Bears' treatment of Lynch makes more sense now

Among the many unfortunate discoveries in a miserable 2014 Bears season is that something resembling reality is unlikely to emerge out of the bunker from which Phil Emery and Marc Trestman operate.

This would have been valuable information had Jordan Lynch possessed it back in May when the Bears sold him on the idea of signing with his hometown team.

Lynch had alternatives. There were teams interested in him at several positions, and when Jon Gruden had him at his QB camp last spring, the former NFL coach suggested - after drilling Lynch at several spots - that he would, "Bring him along as a quarterback and give him a small package of plays that he would be accountable for every week. That package would expand as he showed he could take it.

"I would also have him work out with the running backs. I'd have him spend a little time with the receivers. I would continue to give him as many reps as possible as he became our service squad quarterback.

"I'd even try to use him on special teams. He'd have a role that would wear him out."

Gruden went on to say he would want Lynch on his NFL team because he's a winner with great character, a guy who's tough and always makes plays when he has the ball in his hands, and some coach ought to be smart enough to get the ball in Lynch's hands.

That coach was not Marc Trestman.

A few teams spoke to Lynch about those possibilities, but the Chicago native went with his heart instead of his gut.

Lynch lost 20 pounds for the Bears to become a faster running back and special-teams player, and spent the next four months learning a new position and playbook.

"He's a really fine runner," Emery said when the Bears signed him. "The fact that he can throw with accuracy in a short area is good, too. You want as many athletes who can do as many things as possible, and he certainly presents options that way."

The Bears sure made it sound like they agreed with Gruden, that they wanted to find a way to get the ball in Lynch's hands and were willing to spend a year or two teaching him.

"He's very instinctive, especially for a quarterback between the tackles," Emery said. "He just knows where to find the soft spots. He's got really good contact balance. He doesn't go down easy. I like all those things."

But when the exhibition games began, Lynch was nearly invisible.

He led the Bears with 24 yards on 7 carries in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and then disappeared. He played special teams in Game 2 and saw no action in Seattle in Game 3, when the Bears were down 31-0 at the half.

Trestman promised that in the final preseason game, "You'll see quite a bit of him," "He'll get an opportunity," and, "It will be a good opportunity to show what he can do."

That also didn't happen.

Lynch showed up in the fourth quarter and got 6 carries when it became apparent that the entire Lynch narrative was a sham designed to create positive press.

Lynch agent Cliff Brady told the Sun-Times in May that the Bears pitched him hard, saying, "Trestman told him, 'I have 10 different things I can do with you. Come with us. Come here and we'll make it work.' "

One more statement that was far from true.

By the time Trestman was done ignoring him, and going back on the assurance that they would showcase him if they didn't have a spot for him, Lynch had given away a year of his professional life and taken on a new position and body for a team that never had any intention of giving him a chance to make the team - or even the practice squad.

Seriously, between the horrific special teams and the daily turnover on the practice squad, the 2014 Bears couldn't find room for a player actually willing to hit someone and able to follow simple directions?

The list of players who have come and gone from the Bears' practice squad is very long. Of the original 10 on the practice squad, six remain with the team in some form and the Bears have made 41 practice-squad moves since Sept. 1.

Jordan Lynch's name is nowhere to be found in those 51 transactions.

But this isn't about whether Lynch could have made a difference in the Bears' season, whether he could have made it in the NFL with another team, or his future as a quarterback.

It's a simple question of fairness.

Why did they do it? For the feel-good story? Was it nothing more than a publicity stunt?

Lynch probably believed the worst-case scenario was a year or two on the practice squad while doing everything the Bears asked, and becoming a backup running back or special-teams player.

When the Bears dumped Lynch in August, Emery told the team website, "A big part of keeping (four) running backs was their ability to contribute on special teams. Jordan was raw to that task. He has great effort in that area. The assignments and execution of those assignments were new to him."

Well, no kidding. Was this some shocking revelation? Was it new information to Emery? Did he know what position Lynch played at NIU when he set records galore?

Why didn't they just tell Lynch that to begin with? They had to know the numbers were against him and he could have gone elsewhere.

Are the Bears' special teams so good that they couldn't have given Lynch a chance to learn? Is their short-yardage game - which utilizes the very popular 30-yard QB sweep - so good that Lynch was of no value?

What's clear now is that the Bears either have no idea how to evaluate talent, or they weren't honest with Lynch and signed him merely for the buzz.

Take your pick, but either way they stuck it to a great kid with a huge heart who asked for nothing and deserved better.

No longer should we be surprised.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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