Sometimes the juiciest rumors don’t come out until it no longer matters. The Chicago Bears trade buzz this year centered mostly around what they could, would and did do in the draft. Their only notable move was jumped back into the second round to grab wide receiver Anthony Miller. A year ago it was pretty much the same with their jump up to pick Mitch Trubisky. GM Ryan Pace seems to save his big moves for the draft.
As it turns out it almost wasn’t that way in 2017. Pace was still in the process of overhauling the roster. One of his most difficult situations had to do with former first round pick Kyle Fuller. The Bears chose not to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. That meant Fuller, who was coming off a season-ending knee injury would be a free agent. It was do or die.
In the end Fuller had a great year, got transition tagged by the Bears and locked up a new four-year contract. However, according to an executive speaking to ESPN columnist Mike Sando, it was almost totally different.
Bears reportedly tried to trade Kyle Fuller before letting him play out
Sando got a lukewarm response from certain people about the Bears’ offseason. They were skeptical of their health situation regarding Allen Robinson, Leonard Floyd and Kyle Long. There were also some rough contracts they didn’t like including Taylor Gabriel and Fuller himself who got $14 million per year. The interesting note though was when one exec revealed what Chicago tried to do before letting the season play out.
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“And then on Fuller, a year ago, they were trying to trade him,” this exec said. “Now he is worth $14 million? Using the transition tag was brilliant — it was the only way they were going to sign him — but teams just don’t have financial discipline. They’re scared.”
Given how things have come to pass, it’s a shock to hear the Bears tried trading Fuller. He’s now cemented as their best cornerback. Just how would that top 10 defense have looked had they succeeded? Odds are given his health status at the time Pace wouldn’t have gotten a huge return for him. Likely a mid-round pick.
It’s not hard to envision. Pace had already unloaded several former Phil Emery draft picks the previous two years. Sending Fuller packing too isn’t a stretch. He should count his lucky stars that no team made an aggressive enough play to get him. It would’ve been a lose-lose situation for the Bears.
Further proof that sometimes it’s the deals you don’t make that matter most.
