Bear Digest

Positions of Need Might Outweight QB Now

A first-round quarterback might be a luxury the Bears cannot afford at this point after what transpired through the first week of free agency

Gene Chamberlain

Positions of Need Might Outweight QB Now
Positions of Need Might Outweight QB Now /

Akiem Hicks remains one of the leaders of the Bears defense.

The Bears can get on to more pressing issues not related to Russell Wilson or lost starters.

Hicks for days had been rumored to be on the way out of town, and even expressed a lot of anxiety over everything via social media. In the end, it appears the team's inability to sign Kenny Golladay allowed them to keep Hicks on board.

Hicks had been due a $10.4 million salary in this, the last year of his contract, and there is no word yet of any type of restructuring or extension. Brad Biggs of the Tribune reported on Saturday sources who told him Hicks was being allowed to seek a trade now say the Bears will keep him.

At least Hicks is safe barring an unforeseen maneuver like a late trade for Wilson in which he might be involved, or another deal the team might initiate.

 The focus can move toward less traumatic issues than the gutting of a defense.

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There are still issues to be resolved, like who the safeties will be since only Deon Bush has been signed back onto the roster. They could still pursue a deal for Tashaun Gipson or look into the marketplace, but the draft has yielded safeties for them in the past in later rounds, too.

What free agency is unlikely to supply is the speed and explosiveness on offense they could have added with Kenny Golladay before his signing Saturday by the New York Giants.

T.Y. Hilton might be the most accomplished. Hilton was once a burner with 4.34-second speed in the 40 but now is 31 and more of an all-around receiver who commands a salary probably larger than the Bears would want to spend for someone not named Golladay.

Receivers lacking in other areas are available in free agency. The Rams' Josh Reynolds is a 4.52 guy. The Bears have that already in Anthony Miller, when he's not fighting.

What the Bears need to do is add speed at receiver, more players like Darnell Mooney. The slot receiver, especially would benefit from a speed upgrade and players like Kadarius Toney of Florida, Clemson's Amari Rodgers or Western Michigan's D'Wayne Eskridge would likely be available to them at various points in the draft.

Their need for at least one offensive tackle still remains high. Their plans on offense might not float without a left tackle upgrade and the first round could provide a choice of two or three top tackles, especially Texas' Samuel Cosmi or Virginia Tech's Christian Darrisaw. Later they might find North Dakota State's Dillon Radunz, a player they've researched extensively.

The need for a cornerback at some point existed anyway. Now they need to address it, preferably in the first three rounds. Before they needed to focus on slot corner, but they might want to look on the outside after losing Kyle Fuller. Northwestern's Greg Newsome II is well known to the Bears.

What none of this does is discuss the one draft topic on the tip of everyone's tongue before the Russell Wilson flirtation or the signing of Andy Dalton: the quarterbacks who are available.

With all of those other needs so obvious, and two quarterbacks already on board who can play this year, the big question is how they could ever afford to trade away picks to move up and select a top quarterback.

It's very costly to move into the top 10 and try to get one of the top five QBs. Even at 10 there is no assurance they could select one.

More and more it looks like the place to find a quarterback this year is later in the draft and for that reason the scouting they did of Stanford's Davis Mills seems appropriate. They'll need to look closely.

There are always quarterbacks available after Round 1. The GOAT came in Round 6 to New England. The quarterback the Bears just signed, Andy Dalton, was a second-round pick.

And Russell Wilson was a third-rounder.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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