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Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Pace has a lot of pressure on him heading into 2020. Can he convince ownership that he is the right man for the long haul?
Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Pace is moving like a man whose feet are held to the fire. This is even with the limited resources at his disposal. However, that has not stopped Pace from being aggressive so far this offseason (even if some of the moves are head-scratching).
He went with veteran leadership over youth and upside by picking Danny Trevathan over the younger more promising Nick Kwiatkoski. When it came to the tight end position, he went with a familiar face in former New Orleans Saint Jimmy Graham.
We pounded the table as fans for more pass rush help at the outside linebacker position. Pace went out and signed one of the best ones available in Robert Quinn. Last, but certainly not least, he went out and traded for a Matt Nagy hand-picked guy in former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.
The moves by Pace this offseason reek of a GM who knows the pressure is on for him to produce a winner in 2020.
The Foles acquisition is an admission of Nagy being just about done with Trubisky. In Foles, Nagy gets a quarterback that knows the system inside and out. Pace signed Quinn because he saw what every other Bears fan saw in 2020. That was Leonard Floyd was simply not good enough as a pass rusher.
We can complain about the puzzling signing of Graham. However, availability was a big issue with both Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen. Despite his age at 33, Graham’s durability over the past few seasons has not been a concern.
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So far Pace has had a decent offseason, but still has issues at positions that need to be addressed. They have a gaping hole at right guard. Uncertainly after Allen Robinson on the wide receiver depth chart. No answer currently at strong safety to play alongside Eddie Jackson. You also don’t have anything to be confident about in your number two cornerback.
For Pace, the pressure is on for this squad to have a winning season to have solid job security heading into next year. As much as the McCaskey family loves Pace, another year where they miss the postseason would be tough to swallow.