Right now the money discussions for the Chicago Bears are likely centered around Cody Whitehair. The young guard is coming off the best season of his career. One that featured a Pro Bowl nod at center. Keeping him part of their offensive line is crucial to future stability. However, most people are already looking ahead towards the Eddie Jackson contract situation.
This isn’t a big surprise. The young safety established himself as one of the biggest defensive playmakers in the NFL last season. Not only did he post a career-high six interceptions. He also scored three defensive touchdowns. His five defensive scores since 2017 are the highest among all defenders in the league. This earned him All-Pro honors last year. It’s no longer a question of whether he’ll get paid.
It becomes a matter of how much. That will depend on how he performs in 2019 of course, but there will likely be a set dollar amount the two sides will need for a ballpark. Thankfully the Tennessee Titans provided one. They just handed their own star safety Kevin Byard a new deal. One that should line up close to where Jackson will likely end up.
Eddie Jackson contract will be expensive but necessary
Paying a safety $14 million a year sounds like a lot, but there aren’t a lot of safeties like Jackson. His ballhawking skill alone doesn’t come around too often and is almost impossible to replace. The Bears found that out when he suffered the unfortunate injury last year that kept him out of the playoffs. This is before what he offers in intelligence and leadership. Smart teams do what is necessary to keep those players around.
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There’s a reason the Bears held back on spending on Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan this year. They knew the Jackson contract was coming up. They had to save money somewhere and sometimes tough sacrifices must be made. Those two players, while good at what they do, aren’t as valuable as Jackson has been. He’ll be expensive, but barring more health setbacks, will be worth every penny in the long run.
It comes down to how GM Ryan Pace will structure the contract and how much in guarantees he’ll have to pay. Odds are both sides will want to get a deal done before the start of the 2020 regular season.
