The Chicago Bears have made a move!
Per Adam Schefter, the Bears are signing Jimmy Graham to a 2 year deal, the team’s first big free agent splash.
Jimmy Graham to the Bears on a two-year, $16 million deal, including $9 million guaranteed, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
Uhhh, can’t say I saw this one coming, especially for this amount of money. Don’t forget Trey Burton is also on the books for about $8.5M. Was this an overpay? We’ll see. The fact is, he’s here and this is an upgrade at the position for the Bears. Welcome to the good side, Jimmy.
For the Packers last year, Graham had 38 catches for 447 yards and 3 TDs. This was his lowest yardage and reception total since his rookie season. At first glance that looks not great, because…well…that’s not great. However, the Bears were truly horrendous last year at the TE position. They finished with a combined 44 catches for 395 yards and 2 TDs. So I guess you can say this was an upgrade.
Everyone knows just how lethal Graham can be when healthy and he gets the ball…just 3 years ago with Seattle he had 10 TDs in a single season. I know Graham isn’t the 1000+ yard and 10+ TD guy he once was, but there’s still talent there. There are obvious questions surrounding Burton for the upcoming season, so SOMETHING had to be done about this position. The Bears could do a lot worse.
One other sort of intangible to this signing is that Graham is familiar with Ryan Pace from when the two spent time in New Orleans together. A time when Jimmy Graham had a lotttt of success. Maybe this familiarity is what pushed Ryan Pace to pull the trigger on a familiar face?
This marks the second year in a row the Bears have signed a guy that the Packers recently released (Ha-ha Cinton-Dix). Clinton-Dix worked out OK, hopefully the same happens with Graham.
This most likely means the Bears are finished trying to improve that TE position any further. Aside from Austin Hooper, who would you have liked to see the Bears pursue at the TE position via free agency or trade?
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