Back in 2015, the Chicago Bears drafted Penn State defensive back Adrian Amos in the 5th round. Pick #142 overall. He ended up being an instant success story, becoming the starting strong safety on defense across four seasons. During that time he averaged 58 solo tackles per year, grabbed three interceptions, forced three fumbles, and had two quarterback sacks. He was easily one of the best surprise success stories in recent memory.
Then in 2019, the Bears made the difficult choice to let him leave in free agency.
A lot of people were upset with the decision. They felt he was a strong part of the secondary and a great complement to Eddie Jackson. This was true, but the thing about the NFL is teams can’t pay everybody. The Bears had other priorities including extensions for Cody Whitehair and Jackson himself. They couldn’t do that unless they sacrificed Amos. Besides. Doing so ended up working out for them.
Thanks to the large contract he signed with the Green Bay Packers last year, the Bears secured a compensatory pick in the 2020 draft. Pick #140. So if you’re following, let’s recap. Chicago took Amos with pick #142, got four good years out of him, and ended up with a pick that’s actually higher than the one they used to draft him. This is what smart teams are able to do.
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Adrian Amos did not take off in Green Bay
The Packers for their part handing Amos $9 million a year to become their new safety. He finished 2019 with 84 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions. This is almost identical to the production he was giving the Bears for the past four years. Only they were paying him rookie money for it. They felt he wasn’t going to elevate his game much beyond that and that giving up more money wasn’t worth it. Time has proven them correct.
They signed Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency at just $3 million. He finished with 78 tackles and two interceptions. The Bears defense was 8th in the NFL in total defense for the season. Green Bay finished 18th. So the loss wasn’t felt much at all. This is how good teams have to operate. Keep the players that are indispensable and let other teams overpay the role players. It’s nice to see GM Ryan Pace take advantage of that.
