Ex-Cardinals linebacker Acho joins Bears on one-year deal
The Bears continued their recent trend of signing veteran unrestricted free agents to one-year deals by adding outside linebacker Sam Acho on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-3, 257-pound Acho was drafted in the fourth round (103rd overall) by the Arizona Cardinals out of Texas in 2011 and had 7 sacks as a rookie.
But in the three years since, all with the Cardinals, he has just 6 sacks, and his production and playing time dwindled.
After starting 10 games as a rookie, Acho started all 16 the following season, but he started just six games in the last two seasons getting just 1 sack each year.
His 2013 season ended after just three games when he suffered a fractured fibula in his lower left leg and landed on injured reserve.
In the 2014 postseason, Acho started the Cardinals' only game and had 2 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
Acho enters what is expected to be a crowded and wide-open contest for starting linebacker jobs in the Bears' new 3-4 alignment. He played that scheme with the Cardinals.
In addition to holdover linebackers Jon Bostic, Christian Jones, Shea McClellin, Khaseem Greene and DeDe Lattimore, the Bears are moving last year's defensive ends - Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young - to linebacker in their reconfigured defense.
Acho is the eighth veteran unrestricted free agent signed to a one-year deal by the Bears in the last 17 days. Five of those signings were defensive players.
The eight newcomers include defensive ends Ray McDonald and Jarvis Jenkins, inside linebacker Mason Foster, cornerback Alan Ball, running back Jacquizz Rodgers, guard Vlad DuCasse, long snapper Thomas Gafford and Acho.
• The Bears also retained one of their own unrestricted free agents when cornerback Sherrick McManis signed a one-year contract.
The Northwestern product and Peoria native originally was a fifth-round (144th overall) draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2010. The Bears acquired McManis in a trade before the 2012 season, and he has been one of their top special-teams players ever since, with a total of 38 tackles.
The 6-1, 193-pound McManis finished second on the Bears in each of the past two seasons with 13 special-teams tackles last year and 15 in 2013.
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