Marcus Cooper Visiting Bears
Free agent cornerback Marcus Cooper is visiting with the Bears, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Chicago is the third team known to be eyeing Cooper, as both the Jets and Steelers reportedly have interest in the 27-year-old defensive back. The Bears have already addressed their secondary this week, agreeing to terms with corner Prince Amukamara on a one-year deal, and inking veteran safety Quintin Demps to a three-year pact. Chicago can use all the help it can get in the back end, however, as safety Adrian Amos was the only sure starting-caliber player the club boasted coming into the offseason.
Initially arriving in Kansas City as a waiver claim, Cooper became an instant contributor for the 2013 Chiefs, intercepting three passes. But Cooper’s role slowly began to diminish in the years that followed. After starting 27 games between the ’13 and ’14 slates, Cooper seldom played on a 2015 Chiefs team that only used two cornerbacks in dime packages. Pro Football Focus, though, is less bullish on Cooper’s resurgence last season, slotting the now-27-year-old defender as its No. 101 full-time corner.
NFC Contract Details: Fairley, Peppers, Reiff
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFC contracts:
- Nick Fairley, DL (Saints): Four years, $28MM. $14MM guaranteed. $8MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $1MM, $4.25MM, $5.95MM, $5.95MM (Twitter link via Wilson). $500K available yearly in sack incentives (link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com).
- Captain Munnerlyn, CB (Panthers): Four years, $17MM. $8MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus. $1MM available via incentives (Twitter link via Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune).
- Julius Peppers, DL (Panthers): One year, $3.5MM. $750K available via incentives (Twitter link via Josina Anderson of ESPN.com).
- Riley Reiff, T (Vikings): Five years, $58.75MM. $26.3MM guaranteed. $11MM signing bonus (Twitter links via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com). Annual $500K Pro Bowl escalator clause (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Mike Remmers, T (Vikings): Five years, $30MM. $10.5MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune).
- Dion Sims, TE (Bears): Three years, $18MM. $6MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com).
- Stefen Wisniewski, OL (Eagles): Three years, $9MM. $3.25MM guaranteed. $1.75MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer)
Bears To Sign K Connor Barth
The Bears will sign kicker Connor Barth, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The veteran will earn $155K guaranteed during the one-year deal.
The 30-year-old kicker spent the 2016 season with Chicago, where he replaced long-time player Robbie Gould. The veteran ultimately converted an underwhelming 78.3-percent of his field goals. Fortunately, he was a bit more accurate on extra points, missing only one in 32 attempts.
Over his eight-year NFL career, Barth has connected on 84-percent of his field goals and 99-percent of his extra points. Besides the Bears, Barth has spent time with the Buccaneers, Broncos, Chiefs, Dolphins, and Saints.
We ranked Barth as one of the better kickers available this offseason, though there were seven others ahead of him.
Bears To Sign CB Prince Amukamara
The Bears are signing cornerback Prince Amukamara, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal, Amukamara tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets that the deal is worth $7MM (all guaranteed). Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that half of that guaranteed money will come via base salary with the other half coming via a signing bonus.
[RELATED: Check Out The Bears’ Updated Depth Chart On Roster Resource]
After being slowed by injuries with the Giants, Amukamara managed to stay on the field for most of the year in his one season with the Jaguars. He probably won’t blossom into a shutdown corner this late in his career, but the former first-round pick could make a fine starter for the Bears. Right now, Amukamara figures to start at one cornerback position with Cre’von LeBlanc holding down the other starting job.
The Bears were swinging for the fences this week, but came up short in several of their pursuits. Originally, Chicago was zeroing in on this year’s top available cornerback, A.J. Bouye. For one reason or another, it seems Bouye never had genuine interest in signing with the Bears. With Logan Ryan and others off the board, Amukamara stood as one of the best corners on the board by Friday morning.
In terms of ability, we had Amukamara ranked as this offseason’s sixth-best corner, behind Bouye, Ryan, Stephon Gilmore, Morris Claiborne, and Dre Kirkpatrick.
Contract Details: Okung, Glennon, Simon
Updates on several contracts signed this week…
- There are “no tricks” in Russell Okung‘s new four-year, $53MM deal with the Chargers, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter). The offensive lineman received a $10MM signing bonus, and his guaranteed money will come via his 2017 $3MM base salary and 2018 $12MM base salary.
- Mike Glennon‘s 2017 $8MM base salary with the Bears is fully guaranteed, tweets Adam Jahns of the Sun Times. Meanwhile, the quarterback’s $5MM roster bonus will kick in on the fifth day of the 2018 league year. Jahns adds that Glennon can earn an additional $2.5MM in bonuses based on playing time, wins, and individual performance. If he hits on these NLTBE incentives, his 2018 roster bonus will be voided.
- Linebacker John Simon‘s new deal with the Colts is actually worth $14MM over three years, clarifies NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter). Simon will earn $6MM in guaranteed money, which will seemingly come via his 2017 salary.
- Safety Jonathan Cyprien‘s deal with the Titans includes a $3MM signing bonus, reports ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky. The veteran will earn a $2MM base salary and $1MM roster bonus in 2017. He’ll be paid $4.5MM in 2018 and $5.5MM in 2019 and 2020.
A.J. Bouye, Alshon Jeffery Didn’t Consider Signing With Bears
The Bears will emerge from the opening of free agency having added Mike Glennon, Dion Sims, Markus Wheaton and Will Demps, but Thursday didn’t go according to plan for the franchise, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Chicago attempted to use its boatload of cap space to sign more established players, including top cornerback Stephon Gilmore and A.J. Bouye and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, but the team swung and missed on all counts. While the Bears looked like the favorites to ink Gilmore as recently as Tuesday, he instead joined the Patriots on a mega-deal. Meanwhile, prior to landing his own enormous payday with the Jaguars, Bouye didn’t even give the Bears serious consideration, a source told Biggs.
Like Bouye, Jeffery had no interest in signing with the Bears, multiple sources informed Biggs. He ultimately took a one-year, $14MM offer from the Eagles to leave Chicago, where he spent the first five seasons of his career and emerged as one of the NFL’s top pass catchers.
Should the Bears could continue scouring the open market for potential solutions at either position, some appealing options remain in a dwindling class of free agents. Logan Ryan, Prince Amukamara and Morris Claiborne are among the league’s still-unsigned corners, while Terrelle Pryor is the best wideout without a contract. It’s unclear, though, whether the Bears are interested in any of those players.
Bears Sign WR Markus Wheaton
After losing Alshon Jeffery to the Eagles earlier today, the Bears have added a new wideout. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that Chicago has signed receiver Markus Wheaton.
Wheaton, 26, had spent his entire four-year career with the Steelers. The wideout cotinually progressed after getting selected in the third-round of the 2013 draft, as he finished the 2015 campaign with 44 receptions and career-highs in yards (749) and touchdowns (five). The receiver played in three games (two starts) this past season, collecting four receptions for 51 yards and one touchdown. A shoulder injury ultimately led to him being placed on the injured reserve in late November.
After losing Jeffery today, the Bears are looking at a crop of unproven receivers. Besides Eddie Royal, all of the wideouts are 27 or younger. Cameron Meredith and former first-rounder Kevin White figure to be the starters next season. Wheaton will likely compete with Josh Bellamy, Daniel Braverman, and Bralon Addison for snaps.
We ranked Wheaton as the 10th-best wideout available via free agency.
Jaguars To Sign A.J. Bouye
The Jaguars and cornerback A.J. Bouye are have reached agreement on a contract, per Ian Rapoport and James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link). Prior to the deal, Bouye was still deciding between the Jaguars, Titans, and Bears, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link). The agreement was finalized on Thursday after the official start of free agency, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Schefter tweets that the deal is for five years and $67.5MM, with $26MM guaranteed. That means the cornerback will be making around $13.5MM annually. Rapoport adds that Bouye will be receiving $44MM over the first three years of the contract.
An undrafted free agent out of Central Florida in 2013, Bouye had started only eight games during his first three years in the league, but was pressed into duty in 2016 and ended up starting 11 contests. During that time, Bouye managed one interception and 16 passes defensed, and graded as the NFL’s third-best corner behind Denver’s Chris Harris and Aqib Talib, per Pro Football Focus. In the most recent edition of PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents, Bouye ranked first overall.
One of the more intrguing free agents in recent memory thanks to his lack of experience, Bouye generated quite a market during the legal tampering period. The Colts, Titans, Bears, Buccaneers, Jets, and Eagles were all thought to be interested in the 25-year-old Bouye, who is expected to command north of $12MM annually. The Texans also wanted to retain Bouye, but Houston couldn’t keep up with the other offers flowing Bouye’s way.
The Jaguars are no strangers to defensive spending in free agency. In 2016, Jacksonville added Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson on top-of-the-market deals, and this offseason the club has already inked Barry Church and is in the running for Calais Campbell, though the latter is now deciding between the Jaguars and Broncos.
Jacksonville’s pass defense ranked 12th in DVOA last year, a ranking that only figures to improve following the addition of Bouye, who will team with 2016 first-round pick Jalen Ramsey to form a lethal (and youthful) cornerback duo.
Bears To Sign Dion Sims
The Bears have agreed to a deal with tight end Dion Sims, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. It’s a three-year, $18MM pact featuring $10MM in guarantees, Garafolo adds (Twitter links).
In Chicago, Sims will likely play an in-line tight end role, allowing Zach Miller to flex out from time to time. The Bears were also linked to other tight ends during the free agent process, and clearly wanted to upgrade the position. Miller is nearing 33 years old and missed six games in 2016 due to injury, so Chicago had tight end depth on its mind as a primary offseason goal.
Sims, 26, has never topped 30 receptions or 300 yards receiving during his four-year career, but the Dolphins reportedly wanted to retain him ever after acquiring Julius Thomas from the Jaguars. Not only is Sims a solid blocker (whereas Thomas is not), he would have provided the Dolphins with another tight end option in the event Thomas falls victim to injury, something he’s done multiple times during his NFL career.
Sims graded as PFR’s No. 6 free agent tight end.
Alshon Jeffery Leaning Toward Signing With Eagles
Alshon Jeffery is leaning toward choosing the Eagles when free agency starts, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. At last check, both the Colts and Eagles were making “strong pushes” to sign the wide receiver. Now, he could be Philly bound, leaving the Colts and Bears to look elsewhere.
The Eagles found a deep threat receiver on Thursday morning when they agreed to sign Torrey Smith. After that, we got word that they were easing up on their pursuit of a Brandin Cooks trade. Ultimately, a Cooks trade would have cost the Eagles a boatload of draft compensation on top of having to work out a new deal with Cooks at some point in the next two years. If they can sign Jeffery and Smith, they will have given two serious weapons to Carson Wentz without hurting their draft situation.
Remaining in these wideout pursuits despite having one of the worst cap situations in the league, the Eagles would be in a better place offensively by signing Jeffery. With the Bears in 2013 and ’14, the big target surpassed 1,100 yards — going for 1,421 in a Pro Bowl ’13 slate — before injuries and a suspension limited him the past two seasons.
Jeffery rated as PFR’s No. 2 overall free agent. The Eagles showed interest in DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Kenny Stills and Kenny Britt. By adding Smith and Jeffery, they could possibly put Jordan Matthews in the slot full-time and have a layered passing attack, one that also includes Zach Ertz.