Extension Candidate: David Montgomery
In recent years, a select number of running backs have received sizeable second contracts. Given his performances early in his career, and his importance to the Bears’ offense, David Montgomery could be the next in line for a new deal.
The 25-year-old had a productive college career at Iowa State. In his final two years in particular, he took on a heavy workload, ranking second and first in the Big 12 in carries in 2017 and 2018, respectively. He put up similar numbers across his sophomore and junior campaigns, totalling 2,362 rushing yards, an additional 453 yards through the air and 24 touchdowns.
That production made him one of the highest-rated backs in the 2019 draft class. He was firmly on Chicago’s radar, and the Bears traded up to N0. 73 to select him. As a result of the Khalil Mack trade, Montgomery represented the team’s top pick that year, something which heightened expectations as he entered the league. During that offseason, the Bears traded away Jordan Howard and signed Mike Davis, teaming the veteran with Tarik Cohen. 
Montgomery spent his rookie season splitting snaps with latter in particular. He was still able to start eight games and total over 1,000 scrimmage yards, however. That made it an easy transition for him to take over as a workhorse back in 2020, when Cohen began experiencing the injury troubles which limited him to three games that year, and cost him the entire 2021 campaign. Montgomery had the best season of his career to date, ranking fifth in the NFL with 1,070 rushing yards.
Having demonstrated his abilities both on the ground and in the passing game, expectations were once again high for the five-foot-eleven, 224-pounder heading into 2021. The Bears’ offense still featured Allen Robinson and was in line for a significant change at quarterback, with the team having drafted Justin Fields. Those two never generated the chemistry many were expecting, though, leaving Montgomery as the team’s top offensive weapon once again. He was limited to 13 games due to a knee injury, but still managed to record 1,150 scrimmage yards and score seven touchdowns.
In part because of Montgomery’s production on one hand, and the decided lack of consistently effective players around him on the other, he has accounted for nearly one-quarter of the Bears’ offense during his career. That figure ranks seventh in the league across that span, leaving him (especially in the absence of Robinson, who signed with the Rams in free agency) as the undisputed focal point of Chicago’s attack.
How much the team’s front office – now led by general manager Ryan Poles – is willing to pay him, knowing that fact, becomes a central question. In the absence of an extension being signed this summer, much will depend, of course, on his level of play in 2022 under new head coach Matt Eberflus. Fields is now the unquestioned starter, and is understandably expected to take a significant step forward. As for the backfield, Montgomery will be supported by 2021 sixth-rounder Khalil Herbert (who impressed in his rookie season) and, in all likelihood, Trestan Ebner, whom the team drafted this April.
From a financial standpoint, the running back position has seen a notable upward trend in recent years. A total of eight backs are now under contract for at least $12MM per season, from 2016 draftees Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry to, most recently, Nick Chubb. Given his production, Montgomery may be the likeliest candidate for an extension amongst members of the 2019 class (the other most notable ones being Josh Jacobs, who had his fifth-year option declined by the Raiders, and Miles Sanders, who hasn’t been given as large of a workload by the Eagles).
On the final year of his rookie contract, Montgomery will earn a base salary of $2.8MM, while carrying a slightly higher cap hit. The rebuilding Bears rank third in the league in cap space right now, and first in projected space for 2023, so affording even an above-market extension likely wouldn’t be problematic. As detailed by ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Montgomery isn’t focusing on his financial future heading into his contract year, however.
“At the end of the day, whether I’m going into my second year or my first year, I’ve still got to play football,” he said. “I could really care less about contracts, the contract terms and things, but I’m excited to be here for another year and play with my guys too.”
Bears OL Teven Jenkins Finishes Minicamp With Second-String Offense
Bears OL Teven Jenkins began practicing with Chicago’s second-team offense towards the end of OTAs, and that continued throughout the club’s mandatory minicamp, per Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic (subscription required). Meanwhile, Braxton Jones has been operating as the first-string left tackle, with 2021 fifth-rounder Larry Borom at RT.
Jenkins, the No. 39 overall pick of the 2021 draft, was originally viewed as a future fixture on the blindside. Unfortunately, he was forced to undergo back surgery last August, and he ultimately appeared in just six games (two starts) as a rookie.
Although both Jenkins and Borom were selected by the Bears’ prior regime, the new coaching staff appeared plenty content to move forward with them as their first-stringers — Jenkins at RT and Borom at LT — just a couple of weeks ago. So it is notable that Jenkins has been demoted in favor of Jones, a rookie Day 3 selection.
Naturally, head coach Matt Eberflus downplayed the significance of the move. “We’re going to finish off the minicamp with this alignment, and then we’ll decide, ‘Hey, we like this alignment, that alignment,’ or, like I said, ‘(We) don’t like either one; let’s go with a new one,'” he said. “So we’re just assessing guys’ talents, assessing their skill level and going forward from there.”
With three unproven options vying for jobs as OL bookends in support of a second-year quarterback, Justin Fields, there is certainly plenty of logic in trying different alignments, particularly in OTAs and minicamp. But in a separate piece, Fishbain and Jahns suggest that there is more to Jenkins’ current status than Eberflus is letting on. Jahns posits that, if the Bears simply wanted to try Borom out on the right side, they could have shifted him to the second team to give him a look while keeping Jenkins with the first-team offense at RT, where he had been penciled in for months. Indeed, OL continuity is meaningful, even in spring work, and it appears that Jenkins is simply not performing at a high enough level right now.
Obviously, the alignment for the start of training camp will be particularly telling. While Eberflus was non-committal when asked if either Borom or Jenkins could see time at guard, both players lined up exclusively at tackle in practices that were open to the media.
Robert Quinn To Skip Bears’ Minicamp
Mentioned in trade rumors earlier this offseason, Robert Quinn is not expected to join the Bears’ new-look front seven at the team’s minicamp. The 12th-year vet plans to stay away from this week’s mandatory workouts, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Bears purged their defense of many veterans this offseason. They traded Khalil Mack, cut Danny Trevathan and Eddie Goldman and let Akiem Hicks defect to the Buccaneers. Quinn, who is in his third season with the Bears, may well want out. Matt Eberflus said he has talked with Quinn throughout his first offseason as Bears HC but added, via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin (on Twitter), this is an unexcused absence and that he hoped the veteran pass rusher would be on-hand.
[RELATED: Teams Monitoring Quinn As Trade Piece]
Although D.K. Metcalf and Terry McLaurin have been absent for their teams’ respective minicamps, this is not an especially common practice. Players are subject to more than $90K in fines for missing mandatory workouts. Of course, Quinn — who signed a monster Rams extension back in 2014 and landed a nice Bears accord in 2020 — has made considerable dough as an NFLer. Still, Quinn is by far Chicago’s best pass rusher at this point. The team moving on from him would further gut its defense.
The Bears trudged through a rough 2021 season, but Quinn turned it into a showcase year. At age 31, Quinn broke Richard Dent‘s single-season Bears sack record — which had stood since 1984, when the Bears notched a still-standing NFL record for team sacks (72) — by notching 18.5 in 16 games. Quinn would stand to help most contenders’ pass rush situations, should the Bears end up dealing him.
Chicago gave Quinn a five-year, $70MM deal in 2020. After fading during his final years with the Rams and not standing out during a 2018 Dolphins one-off, Quinn rebounded with the Cowboys in 2019, when he recorded 11.5 sacks. The Bears have paid out Quinn’s guarantees, giving them flexibility to move on ahead of Week 1, when vested veterans’ salaries become locked in.
New GM Ryan Poles said earlier this offseason a Quinn trade was not on the team’s radar. The accomplished veteran does carry a team-high $17.1MM cap number, and the Bears could both pick up an asset and save some money by trading him. Should another team agree to take all of Quinn’s $12.8MM salary, that would benefit a rebuilding Bears squad. Collecting a draft pick for Quinn now may be prudent for Poles, considering the veteran edge rusher’s two-sack 2020 showing.
Absent Quinn, sacks may be difficult to come by in Eberflus’ first season in charge. The team did not operate aggressively to replace Mack in free agency, signing ex-Eberflus Indianapolis charge Al-Quadin Muhammad, and it waited until Round 5 to address the position (Dominique Robinson.)
Bears Release Jeremiah Attaochu, Sign Mike Pennel
The Bears made a roster swap of eight-year veterans today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, releasing linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu and signing defensive tackle Mike Pennel. Both defenders have spent their careers as role players, earning starts here and there without ever consistently serving as a starter on defense. 
Attaochu was a second-round pick for the Chargers back in 2014. He made an immediate impact in his NFL debut, recording a strip sack and a blocked punt. He had the best year of his career in his sophomore season. Attaochu started 12 games that year, recording a career-highs in sacks (6.0), tackles for loss (15.0), quarterback hits (17), and tackles (44 solo and 11 assisted). He added a forced fumble and one pass defensed for good measure. In his last season with the Chargers, Attaochu only started one game and was limited to eight appearances due to ankle and foot injuries.
Attaochu signed as a free agent with San Francisco but was released before the season started. He was quickly picked up by the Jets but was only used in a limited capacity recording 2.0 sacks in eleven games. The next offseason, Attaochu signed with the Chiefs as a free agent but, once again, was released on September 1st, before the season.
Attaochu stayed unsigned a bit longer this time, finally joining the Broncos in October of the 2019 NFL season. He did enough during his first year with the Broncos to get re-signed on another one-year deal. During his two-year tenure in Denver, Attaochu started ten games, recording 8.5 sacks, 11.0 tackles for loss, and 14 quarterback hits, also forcing and recovering one fumble a piece.
His resurgence in Denver led the Bears to sign Attaochu to a two-year deal last offseason. He played fairly limited snaps as a Bear in five games before suffering a pectoral tear that would sideline him for the rest of the season. By waiting to cut Attaochu after June 1, the Bears reduced their dead money over the next two years from $2.25MM to $1.05MM.
In a corresponding move, the Bears brought in the 31-year-old Pennel. After going undrafted in 2014, Pennel has stayed an impressive eight years in the league, starting as a bit of a reserve defensive lineman before evolving into more of a rotational contributor over the last five years of his career. Pennel has 16 starts over his career, along with 2.0 sacks and 176 total career tackles. He’ll likely compete with Khyiris Tonga for playing time behind Angelo Blackson and Justin Jones in Chicago.
John DeFilippo Won’t Coach In 2022
Veteran offensive coach John DeFilippo will step away from the sidelines this season. He does fully intend to resume coaching in 2023, however, as noted by Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). 
The 44-year-old’s NFL career began in 2005 with the Giants. That was quickly followed by stints with the Raiders (on two separate occasions) and Jets as a QBs coach. 2015 saw his first opportunity as an offensive coordinator in Cleveland; in his lone season with the Browns, the team ranked near the bottom of the league in almost every major category, leaving few surprised that he was on the move again after just one year.
DeFilippo’s next OC gig came in 2018 in Minnesota, one year after he helped Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl title as his position coach. His hire, along with the three-year deal given to Kirk Cousins, led to optimism for the Vikings’ offense. The unit ranked mid-pack in terms of yards and points, though, and DeFilippo didn’t make it to the end of the campaign before being replaced by Kevin Stefanski.
That led him to Jacksonville the following year, but his third OC stint didn’t produce improved results. In the absence of Foles for, essentially, the entire season, the Jaguars went 6-10 and struggled on offense. Once again, that led to DeFilippo moving on after a one-year stay. He wasn’t out of work long, however.
Just two days after departing Jacksonville, DeFilippo was hired by the Bears to serve as the team’s QBs coach. The familiar job title was coupled with that of passing game coordinator last season. However, the Bears’ offense – both with Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields under center – has been lacking during that stretch, meaning DeFilippo was on the lookout for another gig position this offseason. He interviewed for the QBs coach role in San Francisco, which ultimately went to Brian Griese.
Given his age and experience, DeFilippo could be in line for another positional coaching role upon his return. Where his next NFL home will be, though, will not be determined until at least next year.
Free Agent Stock Watch: DT Larry Ogunjobi
We were very close to not having to write this Stock Watch. In mid-March, free agent defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi signed a deal to join new head coach Matt Eberflus and new general manager Ryan Poles in Chicago. A failed physical led the Bears to call off the agreement, returning Ogunjobi to free agency. 
“As I said before, Larry Ogunjobi embodies everything we are looking for in a Bear,” Poles said in a statement. “He is a special person and player. During the league’s negotiating window earlier this week, we agreed to terms with him, subject to him passing a physical here. After a standard and thorough physical and medical review with Larry yesterday afternoon, our medical team deemed him to have failed his physical and, therefore, unfortunately, we are not signing him today. This is difficult and it is emotional for everyone involved, but ultimately is what is in the best interest of protecting the Chicago Bears.”
Ogunjobi’s second free agent deal was set to earn $40.5MM over three years. He would have been entitled to a guaranteed $26.35MM at signing. Compared to his one-year, $6.2MM deal with Cincinnati last year, Ogunjobi was set for a substantial raise. Now, the 28-year-old is back on the market, searching for his next home.
Ogunjobi was a third-round pick out of Charlotte in 2017, getting drafted by the Browns. As a rookie, Ogunjobi was a rotational player. He played in 14 games, earning one start. Ogunjobi recorded 32 tackles, 1.0 sack, and 4.0 tackles for loss as a rookie.
He was named a starter on the line in his sophomore season and held down the job for the rest of his rookie deal, only missing two regular season games over his three years as a Browns’ starter. His second and third seasons were nearly identical. In each year, he recorded 5.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss. His stats dropped a little bit during his last year in Cleveland, but over his last three seasons with the Browns, he totaled 148 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and 25.0 tackles for loss.
Ogunjobi signed with the Bengals last offseason on the one-year deal mentioned above. Ogunjobi got back to his normal ways with his best season to date. He recorded 49 tackles, but added 7.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss. Ogunjobi set himself up to be a premier, young pass-rushing defensive tackle.
Unfortunately, Ogunjobi was injured during the Bengals’ Wildcard victory over the Raiders. The foot injury would require surgery, ending Ogunjobi’s season with the Bengals. It was reported shortly after his contract with the Bears was cancelled that the failed physical stemmed from that injured foot. Poles offered that the failed deal would have prevented them from adding other free agents during the legal tampering period, as well, so the failed physical became a non-starter.
Regardless, the Bears set a clear market for the defensive tackle heading into his sixth NFL season. A three-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $13.5MM is a nod to the accomplishments of Ogunjobi’s young career, but maybe includes a knock for injury. The deal would have given him the tenth-highest AAV in the league. Besides outliers like three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, who is on a six-year deal, and expert run-stopper Brandon Williams, who just finished a five-year deal with the Ravens, most of the top defensive tackles in the league are signing three- to four-year deals.
Who lands Ogunjobi, then? Atlanta could certainly use a playmaker in the middle of the defensive line. Many thought they would make a move for UConn’s Travis Jones, who ended up going to Baltimore in the 2022 NFL Draft. Giving Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees Ogunjobi to pair with Grady Jarrett could do wonders for that defense. Similarly, the Saints would be more than happy to put Ogunjobi alongside David Onyemata. Shy Tuttle is currently set to start next to Onyemata, and Ogunjobi would be a big upgrade in production.
Ogunjobi visited the Jets in early May, but no deal was reached. You probably can’t rule out the Bears, though. Despite the unfortunate outcome, there was enough of a connection that the two reached a deal initially. The Bears did sign Justin Jones to fill their tackle role, but if Ogunjobi is able to pass a physical with the team, he would represent a substantial upgrade over Jones.
Whoever does decide to reach a deal with Ogunjobi, a similar contract to the Bears’ offer should be expected. Ogunjobi should expect a three- or four-year contract from $12MM-$15MM per year. The once-failed physical may take a chunk out of his guaranteed money, but Ogunjobi should still be looking forward to a big payday once he signs the dotted line.
NFL Staff Notes: Eagles, Warren, Bears, Chiefs
This weekend, the Eagles announced several title changes and new hires in their personnel and operations departments. Philadelphia lost six staffers this offseason.
Some of the Eagles’ corresponding moves we haven’t yet covered are as follows. Former-senior director of football transactions Bryce Johnston was promoted to vice president of football transactions and strategic planning. Former-assistant of analytics James Gilman was promoted to director of football analytics. Former-senior pro scout Jeff Scott was promoted to director of football operations. Former-football analytics coordinator Jon Liu was promoted to assistant director of football analytics. Former assistant strength and conditioning coach Patrick McDowell moved departments to become the player development assistant/scout. Pro scout Ameena Soliman was promoted to director of personnel operations/pro scout. Former-college scout (Northeast area) Matt Holland was promoted to senior college/pro scout.
The following are new hires announced by the Eagles that we haven’t covered. In operations, Zach Drapkin was hired as a quantitative analyst. In scouting, Jarrod Kilburn was hired as a college/pro scout.
Here are a few other staff notes from around the NFL, starting with the freshly-named Commanders:
- According to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, legendary tight end and current-senior pro scout Don Warren will retire this week. Warren won three Super Bowls during his 14 seasons as a player in Washington. 13 years after his retirement from playing, Warren returned to Washington as a scout. After five years in that role, Warren joined the Panthers as a scout, where he stayed for ten years. Warren returned to Washington for the final two years of his career in 2020.
- The Bears have hired the Chiefs’ senior data scientist, Krithi Chandrakasan, away from Kansas City to assume the role of director of football analytics in Chicago. To fill Chandrakasan’s now-vacant role, the Chiefs hired Marc Richards in the role of football research analyst, all according to ESPN’s Seth Walder. Walder adds that Richards was a part of the winning team in the 2021 Big Data Bowl. The Big Data Bowl is an annual analytics competition for college students and professionals in the league. The contest challenges participants to spur innovations in the ever-evolving world of NFL advanced analytics.
Nine Teams Gain Cap Space From Post-June 1 Cuts
Although early June no longer serves as a stretch in which a wave of veterans are released for cap-saving purposes, June 2 still serves as an important calendar date for certain teams annually. Nine teams qualify as beneficiaries this year.
Eleven players were designated as post-June 1 cuts this year, via CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. Due to a longstanding CBA provision, teams that designate players as post-June 1 releases see the dead-money burden lessened for that year. Teams can designate up to two players as post-June 1 releases each year.
Here are 2022’s post-June 1 cuts, along with the belated cap savings the teams picked up Thursday:
Arizona Cardinals
- DL Jordan Phillips; 2022 cap savings: $10MM (story)
Chicago Bears
- RB Tarik Cohen; 2022 cap savings: $4MM (story)
- LB Danny Trevathan; 2022 cap savings: $3.3MM (story)
Cleveland Browns
- TE Austin Hooper; 2022 cap savings: $9.5MM (story)
Dallas Cowboys
- T La’el Collins; 2022 cap savings: $10MM (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- LB Cory Littleton; 2022 cap savings: $11.8MM (story)
- DE Carl Nassib; 2022 cap savings: $8MM (story)
Philadelphia Eagles
- DT Fletcher Cox; 2022 cap savings: $2.1MM (story)
Seattle Seahawks
- DE Carlos Dunlap; 2022 cap savings: $5.1MM (story)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Julio Jones; 2022 cap savings: $9.5MM (story)
Washington Commanders
- S Landon Collins; 2022 cap savings: $11.9MM (story)
As detailed in PFR’s glossary, post-June 1 cuts spread dead-money hits over two years. These teams will be taking on dead money this year and next. A few of the 2023 hits are substantial, but the league’s cap-space hierarchy changed significantly Thursday as well.
Because of multiple restructures, Raiders will carry $9.9MM in Littleton dead money next year. The Cowboys will take on $8.7MM in 2023 for cutting Collins, while the Titans will be hit with $8.4MM for their Jones release. Cleveland, which just gave David Njoku a $14.2MM-per-year deal, will carry a $7.5MM dead-money cost next year due to shedding Hooper’s eight-figure-AAV deal early. The Eagles will be tagged with $11.5MM for their Cox cut, with Corry noting that is the net difference because of a $3.2MM salary cap credit regarding Cox’s 2022 bonus proration. Philadelphia re-signed the perennial Pro Bowler on a one-year, $14MM deal.
Hooper’s release pushes Cleveland’s cap space to beyond $40MM; the Browns’ overall cap-space edge is now a whopping $15MM. That should help the team address multiple needs ahead of training camp. Other teams have more options now, too. As of Thursday, the Raiders hold the NFL’s third-most cap space ($22.5MM, per OverTheCap). The $10MM the Cowboys saved moves them up to fourth in cap space ($22.49MM), while the Bears ($22.2MM), Commanders ($18.4MM) and Seahawks ($17MM) now sit fifth, sixth and seventh.
A handful of this year’s post-June 1 cut crop joined Cox in taking advantage of the modern setup, which allows these cap casualties to become free agents immediately — rather than waiting until June to hit the market. In place since the 2006 CBA, this adjustment let veterans loose early while keeping their cap figures on teams’ payrolls through May. Collins quickly joined the Bengals, while Littleton landed with the Panthers, Hooper signed with the Titans, and Phillips returned to the Bills. The remainder of this group remains unsigned. The savings this lot of teams inherited Thursday may help some of these players’ causes in free agency.
Former Cowboys, Bears RB Marion Barber III Dies
Former Cowboys and Bears running back Marion Barber III was found dead Wednesday in his Frisco apartment, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He was 38.
Frisco police responded to a welfare check at Barber’s apartment when someone called about a water leak. Upon arriving, the police forced their way into the apartment. As of the time of this reporting, the cause of Barber’s death is unknown.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic death of Marion Barber III,” the Cowboys said in a statement. “Marion was an old-school, hard-nosed football player who ran with the will to win every down. He had a passion for the game and love for his coaches and teammates. Our hearts go out to Marion’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
The Plymouth, Minnesota, native played in the NFL from 2005-2011. Barber was a fourth-round draft pick for the Cowboys out of the University of Minnesota where he played his last year as a Golden Gopher with his brother, former Texans safety Dominique Barber. In his final Minnesota season, Marion made college football history when he and former Patriots running back Laurence Maroney became the first teammates in Division I football to each rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
Barber would make that a habit, finding success in the NFL despite being officially designated as Julius Jones‘ backup. Barber found his role as a third-down and red zone running back in Dallas. He finished his sophomore season third in the league with 14 rushing touchdowns, trailing only LaDainian Tomlinson‘s record-setting 28 and Larry Johnson‘s 17. In 2007, Barber was named to the Pro Bowl, receiving an invite despite not making a single regular-season start.
Barber ran with an aggressive, punishing style, leading the league in broken tackles in 2007. His identity as a power back earned him the nickname “Marion the Barbarian,” as he embodied his oft-quoted mantra “hit or get hit.” Barber’s last season in the NFL saw him join the Bears to back up Matt Forte. After the Bears failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2011, Barber announced his retirement. He finished his career with 4,780 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns.
The headlines following Barber’s NFL career tell a sad story. Barber ran into legal issues in 2014 and 2018, Hill adds, with both instances serving as cautionary tales on mental health. Former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant tweeted almost a year ago lamenting the state of his former teammate saying he couldn’t even enjoy watching a video of Barber’s highlights know that Barber was “down and out bad.”
Latest On Bears' Tackle Situation
- The Bears have 2021 second-rounder Teven Jenkins pegged as their right tackle starter. Jenkins returned from preseason back surgery to start two games as a rookie, but he was close to 350 pounds last year. The Chicago blocker is back near his listed 320-pound weight, with Adam Jahns of The Athletic noting Jenkins is checking in around 325. Larry Borom is penciled in to take over for Jason Peters at left tackle.