Bears To Cut LB Willie Young

Mike Glennon isn’t the only Bears player getting his pink slip today. Bears GM Ryan Pace also announced that linebacker Willie Young will be released. Willie Young (vertical)

Young, 33 in September, was a key cog in Chicago’s defense since joining the team in 2014. He has made 50 appearances for the Bears and he was an absolute sack machine for the most part with 26 over that span.

Unfortunately, Young suffered a torn triceps muscle in October which landed him on IR. Between the injury and the $4.5MM that could be saved by cutting him, it wasn’t a tough decision for Pace. The Bears will give themselves additional flexibility heading into free agency with just $900K in dead money left on the cap.

If Young chooses to continue playing, he should find healthy interest from teams in need of a 3-4 edge rusher. This past season was a trying one, but he has bounced back from injury before. Young tore one of his Achilles’ tendons late in the 2014 season and bounced back to play a complete and successful campaign in 2015. In that 2015 season, Young had 6.5 sacks and 30 tackles.

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