Post by Deleted on May 19, 2018 16:14:26 GMT -6
The ten big signings who fizzled out with the Chicago Bears
ByMatt Eurich May 18, 1:58 AM
The Chicago Bears, for as rich of history that it possesses, has struggled at times when trying to bring in big-name players to help fill the void on either side of the ball. The team has had success in the past when bringing in someone like defensive end Julius Peppers, but for every Peppers signing there are numerous other signings that never quite panned out for the organization. Former general manger Jerry Angelo had a knack for trying to get the most out of former stars, as did Phil Emery. Current general manager Ryan Pace also tried to do a lot of that early in his career but fans are hopeful he has turned the page when it comes to signing over big money to aging veteran players.
Many players on the list below are those who put together Pro Bowl and All-Pro performances before coming to the organization. In the case of offensive tackle Orlando Pace, he was well on his way to entering Canton as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Another, like Jared Allen, is a strong candidate to land in the Hall with Pace down the line.
The biggest requirements to land on this list are whether or not the player entered their season(s) with the Bears with high expectations and whether or not they put together All-Pro of Pro Bowl seasons previously in their careers. This list also only spans back to the 1990s when free agency first went into full effect in February 1993. The oldest inclusion on this list involves a signing that occurred in 1996.
The list does not include players the team re-signed and ended up fizzling out. Additionally, Jay Cutler was not included on the list. Some could argue he was a big-name signing who did not pan out, but he was someone the team traded for and eventually signed to a long-term contract. He may not have worked out the way many fans had hoped, but he did still put together the statistically best quarterback career in team history.
Below we take a look at the ten free-agent signings the Bears made of previously big-name players who fizzled out quickly during their time with the organization.
DB Antrel Rolle
Bears general manager Ryan Pace was hoping to get an elite safety who could help tie together Chicago's secondary in 2015 when he signed Rolle to a three-year deal worth $11.25 million. Instead, he got an aging veteran who appeared in just seven games before he was released. Prior to joining the Bears, Rolle was taken in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft with the eighth overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent five seasons with the Cardinals before joining the New York Giants. Between 2009 and 2013 he was named to three Pro Bowls and was a two-time second-team All-Pro.
In Chicago he racked up just 35 tackles and one pass deflection in his seven games with the team. He later blamed his knee injury on the fact that the Bears had poor training facilities.
DE Jared Allen
In 2014 the Bear signed Allen to a four-year deal worth $32 million with $15.5 million guaranteed following an impressive career with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings. After notching 5.5 sacks in his first season with the Bears in 2014, the team moved him to outside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme in 2015. In three games he recorded five tackles and one interception before he was traded to the Carolina Panthers. He eventually racked up 27 tackles and two sacks with the team and appeared in Super Bowl 50 before retiring from the NFL.
Allen's signing by the Bears was a prime example of the team paying for prior performance. A fourth-round pick out of Idaho State by the Chiefs in 2004, Allen was a five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro when he joined the Bears, but he had not earned either of those titles since 2012. He also led the NFL twice in sacks in 2007 and 2011. Allen was an easy guy to root for in Chicago, but he was just the wrong signing at the wrong time.
OT Orlando Pace
Pace is the only current Hall of Famer on this list. Given his first 12 years in the league with the St. Louis Rams, he deserved to go into Canton. During that stretch he won one Super Bowl, was a seven-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro and a second-team All-Pro in 2000. He was the prime example of what a left tackle should be in the NFL, but the Bears banked on him to live up to that billing in 2009.
The Bears signed him to a three-year deal worth $15 million in 2009. He started 11 games at left tackle before he suffered a groin injury. He was later released by the Bears and retired from the league. Chicago hoped he could give quarterback Jay Cutler some protection on the left side of the offensive line but it was clear from the start he was no longer the Hall of Fame player he once was.
QB Kordell Stewart
Stewart is one of many quarterbacks who has tried and failed in their attempt to revitalize the position for the Bears. A second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995 out of Colorado, Stewart dazzled at times during his time out east. Affectionately known as Slash, Stewart put together a Pro Bowl season in 2001, throwing for 3,109 yards with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and also rushing for 537 yards with five touchdowns.
He was benched in Pittsburgh at the end of his run there before signing a two-year deal worth $5 million with the Bears. He saw action in nine games with seven starts, going 2-5 in the process. He passed for just 1,418 yards with seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions before he was released at the end of the year. He spent two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens afterward but never appeared in a game.
LB Bryan Cox
The Bears were hoping they signed the next great linebacker in Chicago when they inked Cox to a four-year deal worth $13.5 million in 1996, which was the biggest contract in team history at the time. Prior to joining the Bears, the former Miami Dolphin went to three Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro three times. After appearing in just nine games in 1996 he wore out his welcome in 1997 with the organization and was let go.
Chicago did not want to pay Cox his hefty price tag after he was consistently seen arguing with coaches on the sideline. He did go on to play in the league for five more years and won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, but he never played at the level he played at before he joined the Bears in 1996.
DB Adrian Wilson
Desperate as always for safety help, the Bears gave Wilson a chance in 2014. The former third-round pick came to Chicago with an impressive resume. In 12 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals between 2001 and 2012 he went to five Pro Bowls. He was also named a first-team All-Pro in 2009 and a second-team All-Pro in 2006 and 2008. He signed with the New England in 2013 but did not appear in a game.
Despite that fact, Chicago gave him another opportunity to prove himself. Even though he had an impressive pedigree he was released by the Bears before the start of the season.
QB Chris Chandler
A third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 1988, Chris Chandler had made plenty of stops before joining the Bears in 2002. After two short seasons in Indianapolis he made stops with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Phoenix Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Oilers before having the most sustained success of his career with the Atlanta Falcons between 1997 and 2001. He was named a Pro Bowler in back-to-back seasons in 1997 and 1998 and led the Falcons to their first Super Bowl appearance in the 1998 season.
Following the drafting of Michael Vick, Chandler joined the Bears in 2002. There was hope he could rekindle some of his magic for the Bears, but that never happened. He made 13 starts in his two seasons with the team, going 5-8 in the process. He threw for just 2,073 yards with seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions before spending one final season in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams in 2004.
Not quite as big of a name as others on this list, Chandler did have an impressive background before joining the Bears.
SLIDE 8 of 10
WR Roy Williams
The seventh overall pick of the Detroit Lions in 2004, Williams never quite lived up to the hype. Even with that said, he did put together a Pro Bowl year in 2006 for the organization. That season he caught 82 passes for 1,319 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Even when he was not putting up massive catch numbers, Williams was fairly proficient at getting into the end zone. He recorded 23 touchdowns in his first three years in the league. He was later traded to the Dallas Cowboys and caught 94 passes for 1,324 yards with 13 scores in 40 games.
The Bears were hopeful he could be a consistent target for quarterback Jay Cutler and inked him to a one-year deal worth $2.46 million in 2011. He caught just 37 passes for 507 yards with two scores and retired after the conclusion of the season.
RB Marion Barber
A fourth-round selection of the Dallas Cowboys in 2005, Barber was a scoring machine during his time in Texas. In 2006 he gained just 654 yards on the ground but scored 14 touchdowns. The following season he went to the Pro Bowl after rushing for 975 yards with 10 touchdowns and catching 44 passes for 282 yards with two scores. In six years with the Cowboys he rushed for 4,358 yards with 47 touchdowns.
Chicago was looking for someone to backup Matt Forte in 2011 and signed Barber to a two-year deal worth $5 million. In that season he rushed for 422 yards and scored six touchdowns in 11 games with one start. He became the butt of many jokes when the team held a three-point lead over the Denver Broncos. Chicago should have been able to just run out the clock for a victory, but Barber inexplicably stepped out of bounds, stopping the clock. That later led to Tim Tebow and the Broncos winning the game in overtime.
WR Muhsin Muhammad
Coming off a career season with the Carolina Panthers in 2004 in which he caught 93 passes for 1,405 yards with a staggering 16 touchdowns, Muhammad signed a six-year deal with the Bears that could have been worth as much as $30 million. Expected to be a No. 1 wideout, Muhammad and the passing game in Chicago never quite clicked. He caught 64 passes for 750 yards with four touchdowns in his first year before catching just 164 passes for 2,183 yards with 12 touchdowns in his three seasons combined in Chicago.
Muhammad later said Chicago is the place "where wide receivers go to die." He played in Carolina for two seasons afterward before retiring from the league.
