Bears Discussing Jordan Howard Trade
It sounds like Jordan Howard‘s time in Chicago could be coming to an end. The Bears are having trade discussions surrounding the young running back, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Schefter writes that “multiple teams” approached the Bears at the combine about trading for Howard, and that discussions are “ongoing.” There was trade speculation about Howard around this time last year, but the Bears ultimately shot down those rumors and said they were going to make Howard the “main guy” in their backfield. After another disappointing season, they’ve apparently changed their tune.
We heard last week that the Bears were shopping Howard, and it sounds like they’ve got some serious interest. Howard matched his career high with nine rushing touchdowns last season, but he wasn’t very efficient. He averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, down from 4.1 the year before. Neither number was anywhere near as good as his rookie season, when he averaged 5.2 yards per tote.
Howard was a fifth round pick in 2016, and immediately burst onto the scene as a rookie. He finished second in the NFL in rushing that year, and made the Pro Bowl. But he’s steadily declined since, and the Bears are looking to move in a different direction. Howard is heading into the final year of his rookie deal, and the team wants to get something back while they still can. Tarik Cohen, who has split time with Howard the past couple of seasons, isn’t really an every down back, so the Bears will certainly add some running back help at some point if they do trade Howard.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/6/19
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: K Chris Blewitt
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed to one-year deal: DL Fadol Brown (had been scheduled to become exclusive rights free agent)
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: RB Daniel Lasco
Bears Release Sam Acho
The Bears have released linebacker Sam Acho, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The move was expected after Acho missed the bulk of 2018 with a pectoral injury. 
[RELATED: Bears Shopping Jordan Howard]
Without Acho, the Bears will have to search for quality linebacker depth and special teams help elsewhere. They’ll also have to replace his locker room presence – Acho was a respected leader in the Bears’ locker room and the 30-year-old (31 in September) provided the club with veteran leadership.
In 2017, Acho started 12 games and played on 60% of the Bears’ defensive snaps. In that time, he posted 27 tackles, three sacks, and one pass defensed. Last year, he had just two tackles across his four games.
Bears Shopping Jordan Howard
Although Jordan Howard matched his career high with nine rushing touchdowns last season, his overall and per-carry yardage numbers continued to decline. The Bears‘ starting running back failed to eclipse 1,000 yards for the first time and averaged 3.7 per tote, as Tarik Cohen gained a bigger foothold in Matt Nagy‘s offense. Howard did not make progress as a receiving back, either, in his third year. The Bears are indeed shopping Howard at the Combine, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. One season remains on the former fifth-round pick’s rookie contract.
Bears’ Kyle Long Restructures Contract
Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long has agreed to restructure his contract, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Long was a cap casualty candidate, but the adjustments to the deal will allow him to remain with the club for years. 
Long agreed to take $2.9M less in 2019, but he can make $2.5MM of that back through incentives, Rapoport hears (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the Bears turned the 2020 into a team option and removed Long’s 2021 season, allowing him to reach free agency sooner.
Long re-upped with the Bears on a four-year, $40MM contract extension early in the 2016 season, putting him under club control through 2021. Discontinuing the deal, which included $30MM in guarantees and a $7.5MM signing bonus, would have called for the Bears to carry a $3MM cap hit against $5.5MM in savings this year.
The 2013 first-round pick has battled through injuries over the past three years, missing a total of 22 games during that span. When he’s been in the lineup, Long has been among the top offensive guards in the entire league. Pro Football Focus ranked him as just the 36th best guard in the NFL last year, but he was previously an annual inclusion in the top-five.
Thanks to a foot injury, Long missed eight regular season games in 2018. However, the three-time Pro Bowler recovered in time to play in the Bears’ opening round playoff loss to the Eagles.
Bears To Release Cody Parkey
The Bears will release Cody Parkey at the start of the league year, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport hears that Parkey is embracing the fresh start and it doesn’t hurt that Parkey is still owed a guaranteed $3.5MM from Chicago in 2019. 
The 27-year-old missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, putting him on thin ice. His 43-yard try off the upright was a heartbreaker, though it wasn’t exactly Parkey’s fault as it was tipped by defensive tackle Treyvon Hester. After that, he may have put his job in further jeopardy when he made a guest appearance on NBC’s Today show to discuss the miss. The lighthearted segment rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way and drew the ire of many Bears fans.
“For me, you understand that we always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing,” Nagy said. “We always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. You know, I just, I didn’t necessarily think that that was too much of a ‘we’ thing.”
By discontinuing Parkey’s four-year, $15MM deal, the Bears will be left with a $4.4MM dead cap hit for the upcoming year.
Soon after Parkey’s national TV appearance, the Bears auditioned a group of six or seven kickers including Nick Folk, Blair Walsh, and Austin MacGinnis. They wound up signing one of the lesser-known names, Redford Jones, after the tryout.
Bears To Release TE Dion Sims
The Bears are expected to release tight end Dion Sims, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Sims was due $6MM in 2019, but the Bears will cut him instead of carrying that cap number. 
It’s not an ideal outcome for Sims but, on the plus side, the early release before the start of the league year will give him an early jump on free agency. Sims, 28, is known more for his blocking than his pass catching. In 2017, his first season with the Bears, he reeled in 15 catches for 180 yards and one touchdown. Last year, injuries limited him to just eight games (four starts), and he finished out with two catches for nine yards.
For what it’s worth, Sims’ blocking wasn’t all that exceptional according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. His 68.6 pass blocking score was solid, but his 47.5 run blocking number leaves a bit to be desired. In any case, his 195 snaps were not enough to qualify for PFF’s positional rankings.
By discontinuing Sims’ three-year, $18MM deal a year early, the Bears will carry a dead cap charge of $333K in 2019.
Adrian Amos In Talks With Bears
This year, Adrian Amos profiles as one of the best safeties available in free agency. Ideally, the Bears would like to keep him from the open market, and they’ve opened up talks with 25-year-old to try and keep him in the fold. 
“At this point it’s really the waiting game. I want to be back in Chicago. Chicago has been talking back and forth, they want me back,” Amos told SiriusXM. “But we’ll see how things shake out. Nothing is certain right now. It’s still a little early. Over the next couple weeks, I guess we’ll find out a lot more.”
Amos, 26 in April, enjoyed the best season of his career at the perfect time. Starting in all 16 games, Amos finished out with 73 tackles, two interceptions, nine passes defensed, a fumble recovery, and a sack. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus positioned Amos as the eighth-best safety in the NFL last year, though he placed even higher in 2017.
For his part, Amos says he’d like to return to Chicago.
“I would like to be back, but the business part of it, it’s complicated sometimes,” Amos said. “Things still could happen, but I have to be prepared for all scenarios. I’m not writing anything off and that was the team I was drafted to as well. There could be a chance that I’m back and there could be a chance I’m anywhere. That’s the crazy thing about this situation where my contract’s up so anything could really happen. I’m just sitting back and really waiting to see what happens.”
Meanwhile, he also recognizes that the Broncos would be a good fit now that his former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is Denver’s new head coach.
“I don’t know, but obviously that would be a fit where I know the defense and things like that,” Amos said. “But it’s not something that I’m pinpointing like, ‘Hey, I want to go there,’ or anything like that. I’m just keeping all options open. First and foremost, I’m a Bear right now, so that’s a main focus early on. But if that doesn’t work out, then I have to explore what team fits me best, what team gives me the best opportunity to take care of my family as well as progress on the football field.
Bears Hire Defensive Assistant
- Former NFL wide receiver Chris Jackson will join Matt Nagy‘s Bears staff as a defensive assistant, the team announced. Jackson initially caught on with the Bears during 2018 training camp via the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He spent last season as a high school assistant in Peoria, Ariz.
Bears Announce Promotions
- The Bears have continued to fill out their staff under new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, announcing that defensive quality control coach Sean Desai has been promoted to safeties coach, while fellow defensive QC coach Bill Shuey was promoted to pass analyst/assistant linebackers coach. Additionally, DeShea Townsend, who was originally hired as Chicago’s defensive backs coach in January, has had his title changed to secondary coach. The Bears’ defense ranked first in scoring, third in yardage, and posted the best defensive DVOA since the 2015 Broncos, but they’ll have to fight off regression and adjust to new coaches in order to repeat as NFC North champions.