Ryan Pace knows he’s up against the clock now. Everything he wanted is finally in place. He has his young quarterback in Mitch Trubisky. He has a passionate, smart offensive head coach to guide him in Matt Nagy. The roster is young and deep across most position. It’s felt that the time has come for the Chicago Bears to start winning football games.
At least that’s his hope. After three seasons the team has just 14 total victories, one of the worst stretches in franchise history. That’s not all on Pace. He inherited an old roster that has been depleted by years of neglect from previous regimes. So much that he was forced to blow it all up and start from scratch.
He knew there’d be growing pains and it would be tough going for awhile. All he asked was for patience. Just give him time. The Bears ownership, in an era of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately in the NFL, obliged. In return, Pace has built them an impressive roster on paper, but more than that he’s also done something the McCaskey family must love.
He’s saved them money.
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Ryan Pace and Bears invisible on a list of most bloated NFL contracts
Bill Barnwell of ESPN had an interesting article recently where he explored 20 contracts handed out this offseason that through his research were considered a bit on the rich side. Aside from certain teams making the list more than once (looking at you San Francisco), it was fascinating to note that the Bears were nowhere to be found.
“I’ve done just that by comparing the three-year value of each player’s contract to the 20 largest three-year values at their respective positions. I’ve compared edge rushers to other edge rushers, cornerbacks to other cornerbacks, and guards to other guards. The resulting list reveals 20 players whose three-year values round up to be at least 30 percent higher than the top 20 values at their position, which I’m considering to be the baseline. It reveals which teams have been too aggressive in locking up talent and which players are actually getting a premium after you consider their position.”
This reflects on how disciplined Pace was in free agency this year. Keep in mind the Bears were really aggressive in free agency. They handed out several contracts but time has proven that each of them was more modest than some initially let on. A perfect example is their biggest addition: wide receiver Allen Robinson.
He signed a three-year deal worth $42 million. This averages out to $14 million per season. Considering he’s already been to a Pro Bowl and still just 24-years old, that seems fairly cheap despite his recent knee injury. When one finds out the Chiefs paid $16 million to Sammy Watkins and the Rams paid $16.2 to Brandin Cooks, it makes it look even better.
Say what you will about Pace’s success to this point. If nothing else he’s done a masterful job of nurturing the Bears salary cap.
