The Chicago Bears seem to be in an awkward spot from a roster perspective. While it has plenty of talent in certain areas, it is also now the oldest in the NFL. This with significant question marks in the secondary as well as the offensive line and wide receiver. GM Ryan Pace has put himself in a tough spot. He now has a viable quarterback to build around in Justin Fields but won’t have a ton of resources to do it next season.
Chicago has just five draft picks at their disposal as of today with no 1st round selection. They’re currently projected to have $39 million in cap space. That may sound like a lot but not when they have 27 unrestricted free agents to juggle. Among them being Allen Robinson, Akiem Hicks, James Daniels, and Bilal Nichols. There is only so much money to go around. Sure the Bears can create more space by cutting guys like Robert Quinn, Nick Foles, and Danny Trevathan, but that only opens three more key roster spots to fill.
Without many draft picks, the Bears will be forced to rely on a lot of free agents.
It’s hard to build a competitive team that way. That said, it isn’t impossible. Pace isn’t the first GM to face this sort of unique challenge. Trading up for his “franchise” quarterback and facing limited resources the next offseason. Who was it? None other than the man who helped get Pace hired to Chicago, former New York Giants GM Ernie Accorsi.
He faced a similar scenario back in 2004. In need of a quarterback, he decided to pull a gamble by trading with the San Diego Chargers for the rights to #1 pick Eli Manning. The deal proved costly, leaving New York with just four picks in the 2005 draft including no 1st rounder. So how did Accorsi navigate the problem?
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Accorsi was always a strong pressure player and 2005 ended up being some of the best work he ever did as a GM. It started with free agent. Going in, he knew one thing above all else.
#1 – Focus on the offense
Accorsi had one goal above anything else going into free agency that 2005 offseason. It was to give his young quarterback as much quality help as he could afford. That boiled down to two major signings. One was wide receiver Plaxico Burress, fresh off a strong run with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then the next was steady right tackle Kareem McKenzie, whom they swiped from the crosstown rival Jets. Both became major contributors in helping Manning blossom into an eventual Pro Bowler. From there came the draft. At that point, there wasn’t much for Accorsi to do but one thing.
#2 – Hit on as many picks as possible
Having fewer selections decreases the margin for error, but perhaps that added incentive brings the best out of a front office. The Giants certainly made some magic happen. Of the four players they selected, three ended up becoming capable starters for them.
- CB Corey Webster (2nd)
- DE Justin Tuck (3rd)
- RB Brandon Jacobs (4th)
All three of those players ended up having pivotal roles on the team during their success in the years to come. Tuck became a Pro Bowler. That is how one manages the resources available.
Ryan Pace has been in that position before. In 2019, he only had five picks. He managed to come away with David Montgomery. The problem is the other selections haven’t panned out. So he’ll have to do better next spring. He’ll also need to channel the spending money he has towards the offense. That means either re-signing Robinson or finding a quality receiver to take his place. Then invest in Justin Fields’ protection.
It isn’t like the Bears will be contenders in 2022. However, if Pace handles next year well enough he can set the team up for a serious run by 2023. By that point the resource pool will truly begin to swell.
