Probably one of the biggest surprises of the 2020 offseason came when the Chicago Bears managed to trade tight end Adam Shaheen to the Miami Dolphins. Nobody thought he had any sort of value by that point. Over the previous three seasons, the former 2nd round pick had missed a total of 21 games with various injuries.
He was swiftly classified as another of GM Ryan Pace’s noteworthy busts on offense. He comes from the same draft that produced Mitch Trubisky. One could argue the guy never had a chance when he was saddled with the “Baby Gronk” nickname the moment he arrived in Chicago. A bad omen if ever there was one.
Still, the Bears didn’t get nothing out of it.
Miami sent them a conditional 7th round pick in the deal. For a team that was currently projected to have only five picks total? That was noteworthy. The problem was nobody knew what the conditions were. Given his track record, it was felt the odds of Shaheen fulfilling them were remote. So people just presumed the pick wouldn’t be forthcoming.
Turns out those people were mistaken. The Dolphins shocked a lot of people on Wednesday when they announced they’d reached an agreement with Shaheen on a two-year contract extension worth $7.85 million. This locks him in for the future there and all but guarantees the Bears will indeed receive that pick come next April.
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Dolphins are signing TE Adam Shaheen to a two-year contract extension with a max value of $7.85 that includes $3.2 million fully guaranteed, per source. His deal was scheduled to expire after this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 28, 2020
Chicago Bears did the right thing with Shaheen
Don’t let this development change the narrative. The Bears absolutely made the right decision by parting ways with Shaheen. He was unreliable during his entire time here and had to go. They have something to look forward to in Cole Kmet. Shaheen needed a fresh start elsewhere and seems to have taken advantage of it.
He’s scored two touchdowns in his past two games including a 51-yard effort last week. Granted, it was against the hapless New York Jets. Either way, it seems things have worked out for both parties in the end. The tight end gets a new home where he’s wanted. The Bears get an extra pick to help retool what has become the second-oldest roster in the NFL.
As of now, they have six picks in 2021.
Expectations are though that they could receive three to four compensatory selections due to several players they lost in free agency. Over The Cap projects them to receive three. All in the 6th round courtesy of the free agent deals signed by Nicholas Williams, Chase Daniel, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
If that holds true, the Bears will have nine picks total going into the draft. Not a bad setup considering some of the tough financial decisions they may have to make in the coming months. It wouldn’t a surprise if that total grows even further with Pace shipping out one or two other veterans. One thing is for sure. This roster could look a lot different by this time next season.
Hopefully, Shaheen lives up to that nice little deal he worked out for himself.
