Trevathan finds comfort zone with Chicago Bears
When it came time for the leading tackler on the NFL's best defense to decide his future in free agency, he remembered who helped him go from a lowly sixth-round draft pick to the best inside linebacker on the market.
That's why Danny Trevathan decided to reunite with Chicago Bears coach John Fox, who motivated and mentored him as a younger player. Trevathan is still a young player — he doesn't turn 26 for another two weeks — and almost everyone, including himself, believes his best football is yet to come.
His relationship with Fox made his decision to leave the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos a comfortable one.
“He was always in my ear,” Trevathan said. “He used to make up funny sayings; he said, ‘I checked my rule book today, and it said you can be great.'
“Just stuff like that stuck with me. I always respected him, and he would always be telling me, ‘Danny, no matter where you come from, you can go places, man. Sixth-round draft pick, people overlook you, this and that, but you're here now, make a name for yourself.' ”
Trevathan has done that, but he's far from satisfied.
“I haven't even reached my prime yet,” he said. “I haven't even touched my best.”
He brings a play-making ability to inside linebacker that was missing from the Bears' defense in 2015. He has the speed to chase plays sideline to sideline and the athleticism to drop into coverage and make plays on the ball.
But opponents would be wise not to sleep on his ability to punish ball carriers despite a modest 6-foot-1, 240-pound frame. And don't tell him he's undersized.
“It's an issue for everybody else, not for me,” he said. “I believe it's the fight. They say I'm undersized, but I'm not. Seriously. I like that people keep saying it's something about me.
“On film, I believe if you look at it seriously, you would never see weight being an issue. I mean, shoot, they've just got to hit me. I mean, I'm not going to sit right there and let nobody hit me.
“I pack some punch, now. I don't care how big you are. I don't care how strong you are. It's just me and you, right there. I've got faith in myself, and I hate losing.”
Even though 187 players were drafted ahead of him in 2012, Trevathan started all 16 games for the Broncos in 2013 and led the team with 152 tackles.
But the transformation from late draft pick to starter didn't come without some trials and tribulations. Trevathan was in a hurry to establish himself from Day One — maybe in too much of a hurry. It was Fox who provided some needed guidance.
“When I was a rookie, I was just hotheaded,” he recalled. “I used to go into practice and just wreck everything, just fly around. (Fox) told me, ‘Slow down,' but that's what made him notice me.”
• New England Patriots defensive lineman Akiem Hicks is expected to meet with the Bears on Friday night.
The 6-foot-5, 324-pound five-year veteran defensive lineman originally was the New Orleans Saints' third-round draft choice out of the University of Regina (Saskatchewan) when Bears general manager Ryan Pace was in the New Orleans personnel department.
Hicks, considered an excellent run-stuffer, started 33 games for the Saints, but as part of their defensive housecleaning he was traded to the Patriots on Sept. 30 for tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.
• Unrestricted free-agent cornerback Sherrick McManis, who has a team-best 55 special-teams tackles over the past four years, has re-signed with the Bears for two years.
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