The white flag is already flying high over Soldier Field.
The Bears are off to an 0-3 start with non-competitive losses to the Packers, Cardinals and Seahawks. Little was expected out of Chicago this season, and they have delivered on that.
The team’s new hierarchy of GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox have wasted little time in setting the team on a new course. The Bears made a pair of trades Tuesday, dealing pass rusher Jared Allen to the Panthers and linebacker Jonathan Bostic to the Patriots. The Bears got back a sixth-round pick in each deal.
The moves will further weaken a sub-par Bears defense, while also showing the lengths they’ll go to move on from past mistakes. The Bears will pay $11.5 million of the $12.3 million owed the 33-year-old Allen, who was not much of a fit as the team switched to a 3-4 defense this season. He will help shore up a Panthers defense that will be missing star defensive end Charles Johnson this week against the Buccaneers.
Bostic was a 2013 second-round draft pick, and led the team in tackles last season. But, like Allen, he was not a match in the new scheme, and Pace decisively moved on after Bostic fell behind while sidelined with back and ankle injuries this offseason.
The Bears were considered one of the league’s worst before they lost Jay Cutler to a hamstring injury in a Week 2 drumming against the Cardinals. With Jimmy Clausen under center, the Bears managed a measly 48 yards of passing offense in a 26-0 Week 3 loss to the Seahawks.
Is this just the start of the fire sale? Running back Matt Forte is in the final year of his contract, and it’s unknown whether the team will offer a huge contract to keep him.
What is clear is the Bears have basically given up on 2015 and should be considered one of the favorites to land the top pick in the NFL Draft.