Ryan Pace is quickly developing a reputation for swiping decent players away from their previous teams that good head coaches wanted to keep. Last year he did it to Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots when the Bears stole Akiem Hicks. That man promptly delivered seven sacks and should’ve been considered for a Pro Bowl Now it seems the always sneak GM is at it again. This time doing it to an old friend in Adam Gase.
Most people recall that the former Bears offensive coordinator spent one season in Chicago. During that time he brilliant breathed one last breath of fresh air into the career of Jay Cutler. Then, just like that, the Miami Dolphins whisked him away to become their next head coach. So long, Adam, we barely knew thee.
The business with Gase hasn’t stopped there though. Chicago and Miami have engaged in a couple competitions for free agents the past two offseasons. Last year they both wanted running back C.J. Anderson. It looked like the Dolphins had him, but he chose a return to Denver. This year? It was the Bears who sniped Gase when the signed 26-year old tight end Dion Sims.
A move Gase couldn’t help but admit rankled him.
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Adam Gase said a tough loss this offseason was not re-signing Dion Sims. He said offer was competitive, but Sims wanted to be a starter.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) March 28, 2017
The general feeling with Sims is he’s an emerging two-way threat at the tight end position. He’s already respected as a blocker both in pass protection and the ground game. Last year, despite being targeted just 35 times, he hauled in 26 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns. It’s looking like he is ready for a more prominent role in the offensive game plan, hence his desire to seek out a starting job.
Miami made that difficult when they decided to trade for veteran Julius Thomas from Jacksonville. It was no doubt evident to Sims at that point that the team would ask him to split time and probably not see much action in the passing game like last year. One can’t blame him for taking a nice pay day from the Bears. Not only do they love to feature the tight end in their offense, they also badly need one.
The fact that a proven offensive wizard like Gase was upset about losing him? A clear signal they likely made a good decision.
