Kyle Fuller is staying put. The Bears announced that they have matched the Packers’ offer sheet for the cornerback. The contract is a four-year deal worth $56MM with $18MM in guaranteed money, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported.
“We could not be happier to have Kyle under contract for four more years,” Bears GM Ryan Pace said in a press release. “We feel he is an ascending player on our top 10 defense and we look forward to him having many more productive seasons here in Chicago.”
Instead of using the franchise tag, the Bears opted to use the less frequently used transition tag on Fuller this offseason. The transition tag for cornerbacks was worth just $12.9MM this year, versus the nearly $15MM franchise tag. On the flipside, that move only gave them the first right of refusal without granting them any draft compensation in the event of an unmatched offer sheet.
The Packers did not manage to steal Fuller away from their rivals, but they did jack up the price. Fuller reportedly turned down another offer sheet before signing one with Green Bay.
Fuller is now the sixth bears free agent to be retained by the Bears in free agency, joining outside linebacker Sam Acho, cornerback Prince Amukamara, offensive lineman Bradley Sowell, tight end Daniel Brown and punter Patrick O’Donnell. They have also tendered receivers Cameron Meredith and Joshua Bellamy and cornerback Bryce Callahan. Meredith may not be a done deal, however, as he is on a visit with the Colts.
I wouldn’t really say the Packers “jacked up the price.” The Bears basically already guaranteed Fuller $13mil for 1 year with the transition tag. With this deal, they only took on $5mil more in guaranteed money while possibly adding up to 3 more years of control. Stupid move by the Packers. If they really wanted Fuller, or if they wanted to screw the Bears over, they should’ve offered a lot more guaranteed money. As is, this was a no brainer for Pace.
“With this deal, they only took…..”
If that logic makes sense to you, thank god you are not a GM.
I guess GB didn’t have to consider fitting Fuller into their own salary cap? They were just supposed to do whatever was necessary to prevent the bears from matching the offer sheet.
That’d be real smart business. Or not.
They shouldn’t have done anything, bears were signing him all along, all they did was help negotiate a team friendly contract for the bears. Thanks guys!
Played the bears like a fiddle. Awesome news.
Apparently you don’t really understand that the Packers would have had to pay him if the Bears… Oh never mind. Good lord.
You hear some fans claim this rivalry isn’t relevant anymore but both teams will try to stick it to each other when opportunities arise. That’s a pretty good indication the rivalry is still strong as ever.