The Chicago Bears have a roster they now know is capable of going to the playoffs. At this point, they’ll be returning 19 of their 22 starters from last season. Players on offense now have a full year of system experience under their belt. Comfort levels have increased. It feels like this team is equipped to go deeper into the postseason.
With that said, not everybody should be feeling comfortable. It feels like 2019 will be the last season this roster is in place with significant changes coming next. This due both to money constraints and the uncertain status of a few key players on the current depth chart. Players who have either survived because of their draft status or their past success.
That begs the question. Who are the names that are sitting on the hottest seats going into this season? Here are the ones worth watching the most when training camp opens in July.
Adam Shaheen (TE)
The 2017 draft class is cementing itself as one of the best in recent Bears history. Mitch Trubisky, Eddie Jackson, and Tarik Cohen all went to the Pro Bowl last season. The only notable exception in that group who has disappointed is Adam Shaheen. Nobody doubted why he was drafted. The mixture of size and speed he possessed earned the nickname “Baby Gronk.”
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Problem is Rob Gronkowski was well-developed coming out of college. Shaheen hadn’t started playing football until after college started. Then there’s the issue of his health problems. He hasn’t played a full season yet. The Bears are holding out hope he’ll come around, but they only have so much patience. This has to be the year he delivers.
Kyle Long (OG)
When healthy, Kyle Long has proven he can still maul defensive lineman with the best of them. The problem is that first part. He hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2015. One injury after another, be it ankle or shoulder problems have resulted in missing a ton of time. Not to mention a cringe-worthy number of surgeries he’s endured.
The team was able to get him to take a minor pay cut to alleviate his salary cap hit, but this may be a temporary measure. They have major cap issues looming in 2020 and Long could be viewed as one of the necessary cuts they’ll have to make in order to tackle it. That is unless he finally delivers a healthy season and proves his value again to the offensive line.
Jonathan Bullard (DE)
Remember him? The fact that most fans will have to think for a split second pretty much tells the entire story. There was a ton of optimism around Jonathan Bullard back in 2016. He was an explosive defensive tackle from Florida with a ton of upside for the NFL. It was a question of whether he could take on the responsibilities of playing 3-4 defensive end.
To this point, it’s not accurate to say he’s been a bust. However, he also hasn’t ascended as people hoped. Bullard has been a decent rotational player who is good against the run. Such players like that can be replaced. This marks the final chance he has to make an impression before his rookie contract expires. It won’t be easy with Bilal Nichols and Roy Robertson-Harris in his way.
Leonard Floyd (OLB)
Don’t be fooled by the decision to pick up the 5th year option his contract. The Bears did that because they believe Leonard Floyd is poised to turn the corner after how he finished 2018. It was a smart business decision. Even so, that doesn’t mean he is out of the woods yet. Floyd hasn’t put together a full year of quality play to this point in his career.
For every stretch of time he has delivered strong performances, he is either invisible or more likely injured during the rest. If he falters this year, then his future with the team becomes far more uncertain. He could be traded next year or outright released in order to avoid paying that money. Nothing is set in stone with him.
