Chicago Bears' linebackers better, but still not best
Linebacker was the position that received the most attention last off-season from the Bears. Those additions provided upgrades across the board, but there's still room for improvement.
The Bears added unrestricted free agent inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman and moved up to the ninth overall pick in the draft to grab outside linebacker Leonard Floyd.
Trevathan established himself as a team leader early on. But he missed two early games with a fractured thumb and then the final five with a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee. The rehab from the serious knee injury could last through training camp.
"We're optimistic," Bears general manager Ryan Pace said. "He's optimistic. He's working hard. It could be a situation where he misses a lot of the off-season OTAs, and we get to camp and we've got to make the evaluation at that point. Is he ready to go? Is he a PUP (physically-unable-to-perform list) guy? But it's an injury he can fully recover from."
Freeman led the Bears by a wide margin with 110 tackles, despite serving a four-game suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Floyd's development was slowed by a variety of injuries, including two concussions in less than a month. But he demonstrated why the Bears are pumped about his future with 7 sacks in 12 games, all starts.
"I think the sky is the limit for Leonard Floyd," Pace said. "His athleticism, his quickness, he's 100 miles per hour to the ball every play. He's just refining his technique as a pass rusher, so that's going to continue to get better. But he has some special things that we saw in the draft that you can't coach.
"He's the right kind of person, too. He's highly intelligent, so we can move him around."
The Bears believe the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Floyd can be an impact player with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio devising different ways to utilize his elite skill set.
Willie Young, who usually started at the other OLB spot, led the Bears with 7½ sacks after signing a two-year, $11.05 million contract extension during training camp. But Young had just 1½ sacks in the Bears' final 10 games as a variety of injuries limited his effectiveness.
In the second half of the season, outside linebacker Pernell McPhee finally approached the level of play he demonstrated in the first half of 2015, when he was the closest thing the Bears had to an impact player. A knee injury halfway through 2015 limited McPhee's production down the stretch last year, and the resulting off-season arthroscopic knee surgery kept him on the PUP list through the first six games of 2016.
McPhee had 4 sacks in 2016, but there is some concern that he will never get back to the level of play that immediately preceded his knee surgery - 12½ sacks in 18 games. Still, he is a respected, emotional leader of the defense, who only recently turned 28 and has lost weight to minimize the stress on his knee. He could still be an effective player even if his snaps are managed.
"He's one of the top leaders on this team, and people follow his attitude and his physicality," Pace said. "Pernell is a professional, Pernell is a leader, and I think he's going to get healthier and healthier. I hope to see that more next season."
The Bears got to see a lot more than expected from rookie inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. Because of Trevathan's injuries and Freeman's suspension, the fourth-round pick from West Virginia played in 14 games and started seven, serving notice that he could be part of the future, especially with Trevathan's status iffy.
The five-year, $35 million contract that the Bears gave outside linebacker Lamarr Houston before the 2014 season has turned out to be a disaster. Because of torn ACLs in both knees, Houston has played in just 26 games in three years, including two last season.
He has a total of 9 sacks, including a team-best 8 in 2015. But with a base salary of $5.999 million in 2017, he probably won't be back.
Sam Acho, who is set to become a free agent, has been a solid backup and special teams player at a bargain rate, but he's not an ideal starter.
Christian Jones will be a restricted free agent. He was second with 11 special teams tackles in 2016, and the Bears love his versatility and ability to play all four linebacker spots.
John Timu, an undrafted rookie in 2015, provides depth inside, where he has seven starts in the past two seasons, along with help on special teams.
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