Bears Interested In Panthers’ Cam Newton
Cam Newton is on the trading block and the Bears are among the teams with interest in him, Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) hears. The expectation is that Newton will be released by the Panthers in the coming days, but Jones notes that the Bears might not want to compete for him on the open market. Instead, they might be willing to give up something in a trade to bring the former MVP to Chicago. 
[RELATED: Cam Newton: I “Never Asked” For Panthers To Trade Me]
The Panthers announced on Tuesday that they have given Newton permission to seek a trade. Soon after, the quarterback took to Instagram to let the world know that he did not want out of Carolina.
“Stop with the word play! I never asked for it,” Newton wrote. “There is no dodging this one: I love the Panthers to death and will always love you guys! Please do not try and play me, or manipulate the narrative and act like I wanted this. You forced me into this!”
The Panthers later agreed to a sizable deal with Saints free agent Teddy Bridgewater, cementing him as the team’s new starting QB. The Bears, who are looking for alternatives to Mitchell Trubisky, were among the clubs with interest in Bridgewater up until that point. Now, their search could lead them to Newton.
North Notes: Steelers, Ravens, Hurst
Steelers tight end Vance McDonald has restructured his contract, reports SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The veteran will see his $5.5MM base salary converted into a signing bonus.
The 29-year-old joined the Steelers back in 2017, and he’s turned into a solid receiving threat in Pittsburgh. After finishing with a 50/610/4 receiving line in 2018, he followed that up with 38 receptions for 273 yards and three scores this past year.
McDonald joins a number of Steelers veterans who have reworked their deals to provide the organization with more cap space. That grouping includes quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who restructured his deal earlier today. With all of the Steelers moves (including cut players), they’ve opened up an estimated $35MM in cap space.
Let’s check out some more notes from the league’s northern divisions:
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic looks at the who the Ravens could turn to as they look to replace retired lineman Marshal Yanda. While the team is rostering several internal options, the writer dives into the potential options in the draft and free agency. Zrebiec notes that the organization has had some luck finding starting linemen on Day 2 of the draft, and he passes along that general manager Eric DeCosta “all but guaranteed” that the organization will draft at least a pair of linemen.
- The fourth-rounder that the Ravens sent the Falcons in the Hayden Hurst deal is their compensatory pick, tweets Jason La Canfora. Baltimore ended up receiving a second- and fifth-round pick in the deal. The Ravens drafted Hurst in the first-round in 2018, but he immediately took a backseat behind Mark Andrews, who Baltimore took in the third round of that same draft. With Austin Hooper leaving Atlanta, the Falcons had a major need at the position.
- The Bears had interest in lineman Alex Lewis before he re-signed with the Jets, reports Caplan (via Twitter). Chicago has been looking to shake up their offense a bit, as they’re in the market for a quarterback to battle with Mitch Trubisky. The organization has also added veteran tight end Jimmy Graham.
Bears To Sign Robert Quinn, Cut Leonard Floyd
In one fell swoop, the Bears have revamped their pass rush. On Tuesday, the Bears agreed to a five-year, $70MM deal with Robert Quinn, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Meanwhile, they also released former first-round pick Leonard Floyd (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter).
Quinn’s deal includes $30MM fully guaranteed, giving him solid security over the course of the deal.
The Cowboys worked to keep Quinn, but the numbers crunch didn’t quite allow for that. Dallas, of course, came into the offseason with even bigger fish to fry, including negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper. They already watched as cornerback Byron Jones left for the Dolphins, and now they’ll be losing another key member of their defense.
Quinn was the comeback kid in 2019, notching 11.5 sacks for Dallas. It was a resurgent year for the veteran, who had a rocky stretch following his last Pro Bowl appearance in 2014.
The 2011 first-round pick emerged as a serious force in 2012 and looked the part of a world-class defender in 2013 when he posted 19 sacks. He had a solid follow-up effort in 2014 (10.5 sacks), but he missed roughly half of 2015 and 2016 with the Rams. After spending the 2018 season with the Dolphins, Quinn was traded to the Cowboys last offseason.
There were high hopes for Floyd when the Bears selected him in the first-round of the 2016 Draft. The Georgia product had a productive rookie campaign, compiling seven sacks. While the linebacker put up solid numbers in the subsequent three years, his sack numbers have dropped each season. The 27-year-old finished the 2019 campaign with 40 tackles and three sacks.
Floyd was set to earn $13.2MM in what was his fifth-year option year.
Bears To Sign Jimmy Graham
Jimmy Graham has found a new home, and he’s staying in the NFC North. The tight end is signing a two-year deal with the Bears, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s a $16MM pact for Graham, with $9MM of that guaranteed. ESPN’s Field Yates has more details and notes that the deal includes some incentives and a rare no-trade clause (Twitter link).
The Packers cut Graham last week to avoid paying him the final year of the three-year, $30MM deal he signed with Green Bay in 2018. Graham established himself as one of the best offensive weapons in the game during his time with the Saints, having four straight seasons with at least 889 yards from 2011-14. A third-round pick back in 2010, Graham has made five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.
He was traded to the Seahawks for a first-round pick in 2015, and his effectiveness started to dip after that. He had ten touchdowns in 2017 and was still a great redzone threat, but had only 520 yards. He got the big deal from the Packers but was a disappointment, only racking up 447 yards last season.
He’s been a warrior and has managed to play in all 16 games in four straight seasons, but he’s dealt with a seemingly never-ending string of minor injuries that have reduced his effectiveness physically. Now 33, it’s anyone’s guess as to what he’ll look like in 2020. Still, he should be an upgrade for the Bears, who haven’t had anything consistent at the position in years despite multiple attempts to address it. They gave a big contract to Trey Burton last offseason, and while they hope to still see a return on that investment, the deal for Graham suggests that Chicago doesn’t have a ton of confidence in Burton at this point.
Latest On Bears’ QB Search
The Bears are seemingly casting a wide net and while who they add is still up in the air, it seems clear they are targeting a middle-tier veteran quarterback to push Mitchell Trubisky. They’ve been connected to both the Jaguars’ Nick Foles and the Bengals’ Andy Dalton, and earlier today we heard they’ve had talks with free agent Teddy Bridgewater.
But while they’ve had exploratory discussions with Bridgewater, Chicago is “focused” on landing either Foles or Dalton, a source told Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Unsurprisingly, Werder passes along that the organization wants Trubisky to have to compete for the starting job. He also notes that both Foles and Dalton have either played for Bears head coach Matt Nagy or a member of his staff.
Nagy was an assistant in Philadelphia under Andy Reid during Foles’ rookie season with the Eagles, and then was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City when Foles spent 2016 with the Chiefs. Chicago just hired Bill Lazor to be their new offensive coordinator this offseason, who has extensive ties to Dalton. Lazor was the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach in 2016, and their offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018.
It looks like the Jaguars are leaning toward going with Gardner Minshew as their starter, and as such would like to move Foles and get rid of his hefty contract. However we’ve also heard that the Jags aren’t desperate to move Foles, and want real compensation in return. The Bengals are widely assumed to be taking a quarterback first overall in next month’s draft, and don’t really have much need for Dalton any more. Dalton is due a very reasonable $17.5MM in the final year of his contract, which has led to plenty of trade speculation.
Both Dalton and Foles would make for very expensive backups, and while the Bears are posturing as if they just want to push Trubisky, it’s likely whoever they trade for would be a heavy favorite to start. According to Werder, it sounds like Chicago is intent on acquiring one of those two.
Bears Interested In Nick Foles?
Michael Lombardi of The Athletic reports that a source informed him that the Bears are attempting to make a deal to acquire quarterback Nick Foles from the Jaguars. Jacksonville inked Foles last offseason to a massive four-year, $88MM deal following Foles’ tenure with the Eagles. Following Lombardi’s report, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports added that there was a lot of buzz at the combine tying Foles to Chicago as well.
Unfortunately for Foles, in his first game with his new team, he broke his left clavicle and while he was out recovering from the injury, rookie Gardner Minshew showed flashes of competence under center. Since Minshew remains on a long-term, rookie-scale, contract, the rebuilding Jaguars may very well prefer the added cap flexibility and youth that moving forward with Minshew would provide.
The Bears have well-documented concerns at quarterback surrounding Mitchell Trubisky. The second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft showed promise early in his career in Chicago, but as the talent surrounding him has dissipated, he has not improved enough to help the team make up for the shortcomings. While it remains to be seen whether the Bears are fully ready to move on from Trubisky, it’s clear they need to at least bring in some competition.
Bears Interested In Teddy Bridgewater
The Bears have been in talks with Teddy Bridgewater during the legal tampering period, Mike Florio of PFT hears. The Saints don’t have the cap room to keep the quarterback, but the Bears are among the clubs interested in him and, potentially, among the teams willing to give him a starting job.
The Bears plan on sticking with Mitchell Trubisky, though they’ve signaled a desire to bring in competition. Bridgewater would fit the bill.
Florio hears that Bridgewater is in line for a deal that would pay him roughly $21MM/year. At that salary, Bridgewater would probably be anointed as the Bears’ Week 1 starter.
Bridgewater has started in only six games since January of 2016, but he’s also made a complete recovery from his devastating injury. Many believe that Bridgewater can thrive if given the opportunity to start.
Last year, Bridgewater went 5-0 as the Saints’ starter, filling in for Drew Brees while he was sidelined. Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft, went 8-7. He had just 17 touchdowns against ten interceptions, casting doubt on his future prospects with the Bears.
Details On Trevathan Extension
A bunch of teams have been locking up their own impending free agents with contract extensions before the new league year opens, and now we have the financial details we were missing on some of those deals. Linebacker Danny Trevathan signed a new three-year contract with the Bears, and he got a nice payday. The pact has a base value of $21.75MM that can grow to $24MM if he hits some incentives, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter video link).
He’s getting $14MM in guaranteed money, essentially meaning the first two years of the deal are mostly guaranteed. Rapoport also reports that the extension was a “priority” for them, and confirms this likely means the Bears will be letting fellow linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski walk in free agency, something we heard earlier this weekend. Trevathan is a full-time starter when healthy, but he has missed 18 games across his four years with Chicago.
NFC North Notes: Harris, Kwiatkoski, Kearse, Kilgo
The Vikings secondary was one of the most inconsistent parts of their defense last season, but safety Anthony Harris remained a star amidst an inconsistent supporting cast. While Harris is set to become a free agent, Minnesota fans should be happy to know that he has a positive view of the Vikings. In an interview on Sirius XM, Harris stated, “I love the organization.”
Here are a few more notes from the NFC North:
- The Bears organization has seen linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski progress into a legitimate contributor since he was selected in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. However, Dan Pompei of The Athletic, reports that after signing fellow linebacker Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, Chicago appears prepared to let Kwiatkoski leave the organization via free agency.
- Vikings impending free-agent defensive back Jayron Kearse took to Twitter on Friday and said he does not want to return to the team. A pair of Vikings fans were engaging in common social media speculation about the various ways Minnesota could approach the offseason. When one argued that they thought Jayron wanted to stay in the twin cities, Kearse jumped in and said, “No jayron doesn’t want to come back.”
- Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports Lions nose tackle Darius Kilgo will soon be cleared to return to action from the quadriceps injury that cost him all of last season. Pelissero further notes that Detroit has no intention of resigning Kilgo, but it’s obviously ideal for Kilgo to be back to health before entering the open market. Of course, teams would likely want to see Kilgo workout in person, but the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could make teams more tentative to give Kilgo any guarantee if they are unable to see him in person.
Bears Place Second-Round Tender On DL Roy Robertson-Harris
The Bears are looking to keep Roy Robertson-Harris in the fold. The team tendered a contract to the impending restricted free agent, they announced in a release, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that it’s a second-round tender to help ensure no team poaches him away.
Robertson-Harris will still be free to sign an offer sheet with another team when free agency opens, but the Bears will have the opportunity to match. Should they decline to match, that team would have to give the Bears their second-round pick. Since Robertson-Harris certainly isn’t a star player, it virtually guarantees that no other team will present him with an offer and risk giving up the pick.
Since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2016, there would’ve been no compensation for the Bears had they tendered him at the original-round level and he walked in free agency. It represents a nice pay bump for the UTEP product, as the second-round tender projects to clock in at a little above $3.2MM for 2020.
He spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/NFI list but made the team in 2017, and his role has slowly grown in each of the past three seasons. He played his biggest part yet this past season when he appeared in 15 games and started seven, racking up 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended from the interior. All told, he played a hair over 50 percent of the defensive snaps.