Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2018 7:44:07 GMT -6
4 Bears who could be trade candidates this preseason
By: Lorin Cox | 3 minutes ago
It’s been a long process, but general manager Ryan Pace is getting to the point where he can feel pretty comfortable with the depth on his roster.
The Chicago Bears have youth at almost every position, and as a result, some talented players won’t have many opportunities for playing time this season.
As a result, they could be shopped around as potential trade candidates if other teams are interested in their services.
Rather than sit on the bench in Chicago, some of the overlooked and forgotten Bears could bring back at least some return from another team, rather than being released at the end of the preseason.
Here are four players that could be more valuable to another team than the Bears this preseason.
Hroniss Grasu
Chicago Bears offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu (55) gets ready to snap the ball in the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
A third-round pick back in 2015, Hroniss Grasu never quite lived up to expectations for the 71st overall pick.
He was thrown into a fire as a rookie, starting eight games while battling injuries. Then he tore his ACL before the 2016 season, and last year he struggled in four starts.
The fourth-year center is now entering the last year of his rookie contract, and he doesn’t have a spot in the starting lineup.
Even for the backup center job, Grasu has to compete with Eric Kush, and realistically, James Daniels would likely slide over from left guard if Cody Whitehair get hurt.
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Grasu’s lack of positional versatility hurts his chances of making the 53-man roster in Chicago, but other teams could see him as an experienced young center who could be a reliable backup with the ability to start in a pinch.
That might not be worth a lot in terms of trade compensation, but even a late-round pick is better than just potentially releasing Grasu before the regular season.
Dion Sims
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 10: Dion Sims #88 of the Chicago Bears breaks away from Ricardo Allen #37 of the Atlanta Falcons during the season opening game at Soldier Field on September 10, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Falcons defeated the Bears 23-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
$4 million of Dion Sims’ salary this season became fully guaranteed back in March, signaling the Bears’ commitment to him during the offseason, but the extent of his role in Matt Nagy’s offense remains unknown.
He’s set to play the more traditional tight end position while Trey Burton plays the flex role, but Adam Shaheen continues to develop behind him as the eventual heir to the starting job.
If Shaheen starts to come into his own during training camp and the preseason, Sims would become much more expendable.
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Sims’ $6 million-per-year salary makes him a little bit harder to move in a trade, but less than $1 million of it is guaranteed for 2019, so he’s easy to release after this season.
He’s an experienced tight end known for his blocking, and another team with a younger tight end group could potentially value his veteran presence.
He’s another player that wouldn’t bring back big returns in a trade, but sending him to another team would free up some cap space for the Bears and open the door for Shaheen to emerge.
Nick Kwiatkoski
Nov 12, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (44) celebrates his sack during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY SportsNick Kwiatkoski looked ready to take over as a starter in 2018, but the addition of Roquan Smith with the eighth-overall pick sentenced the third-year linebacker to the bench.
While he could be viewed as the eventual replacement for Danny Trevathan, Kwiatkoski’s rookie contract is set to expire in 2020 — at the same time as Trevathan’s.
The former fourth-round pick quietly had a strong 2017 season in limited action, starting six games and appearing in 11 total.
Other teams around the NFL could view Kwiatkoski as a starting-caliber linebacker and be interested in adding him to the middle of their defense.
He could be the most valuable trade chip on the Bears roster in terms of players they might be willing to give up, especially if another team suffers a big injury at the position.
Ryan Pace may want to keep Kwiatkoski around because he provides such quality depth at the position, but with Joel Iyiegbuniwe also in the mix, there becomes less of a need to keep the West Virginia product around.
Kevin White
Jun 5, 2018; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White (11) runs during veterans minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin White hasn’t proven anything on an NFL field up to this point in his career, and now he’s entering the last year of his contract.
The Bears still appear to be supporting him 100 percent, and he’s back to putting in extra work this offseason to get back on the field in 2018.
The wide receiver depth chart has a lot of talent ahead of White, with the Top 3 of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller essentially locked in.
At best, White could be a rotational fourth receiver in Chicago, but even then, he needs to be able to contribute on special teams to be active on gamedays.
During this preseason, if he can show more flashes of the dynamic play-maker he was at West Virginia, he could catch the attention of other teams interested in his potential.
It might be a long shot, but there could be other teams out there interested in taking a flier on the former first-round pick, if only to get him in the building to evaluate him before he hits free agency next March.
A trade for White might only be a conditional late-round pick, but that could be worth more than what the Bears might get out of him anyway.
