Bear Digest

Bears Could Afford to Add 'Thickian'

Saquon Barkley's explosiveness could make him an ideal fit in any backfield, including the Bears.
Gene Chamberlain|
USA Today

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Chicago Bears

Money talks in NFL free agency, regardless of allegiances.

The betting site Betonline.ag recognizes this in one of its most recent offseason betting lines. The Bears have by far the most amount of cash available for free agency at $85.6 million effective space according to Overthecap.com. If running back Saquon Barkley doesn't return to the New York Giants, the betting favorite to sign him is the team with the biggest free agent pile of cash. It's the Bears. 

The Bears are +300 or 3 to 1 to sign Barkley if he's not returning to New York. Buffalo is 4-1 and Denver 5-1 on Betonline.ag.

The Bears have their own talented free agent running back to sign in David Montgomery but there is little doubt they would be upgrading with Barkley starting in the backfield alongside Justin Fields instead.

A duo like that as threats to carry on any down would place extreme pressure on defenses.

Barkley is what Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams refers to as a "thickian."

Betonline.ag and Free Agency

"You know he is big thighs, he is great contact balance, he can hit home runs," Williams said when the Bears were getting set to face Barkley last season. "So he can take it the distance.

"The one thing that I do see that maybe I am not sure that I saw years ago, they feed him in the ball in the passing game also. So, he's well improved there and they try to bring pressure and he blocks. He's a complete back."

BARKLEY WOULD BE UPSET BY TAG

Barkley is more of a breakaway back than Montgomery, the Bears' complete back. And at age 26 he has had three 1,000-yard seasons despite injury issues.

Barkley has overcome a torn ACL suffered at Soldier Field in 2020. He missed three games in 2019, 14 in 2020 and four in 2021 before playing 16 games in 2022 for the first time since his rookie year. He made All-Pro last year and his rookie season, and last season gained 1,312 yards on 295 carries.

The Giants naturally want Barkley back but their current issue seems to be retaining quarterback Daniel Jones.

They're now eligible to use the franchise tag on Jones at $32.4 million a year, but if they can reach a deal and avoid this then they could use the tag to retain Barkley at a huge bargain, for $10.091 million.

This would no doubt alienate Barkley, because the market could dictate something much bigger. Spotrac.com suggests $12.3 million a year in value for Barkley, while Pro Football Focus says he'll need to accept the franchise tag amount of $10.09.

Because of their abundance of cap cash, the Bears would be able to go higher if he comes available. However, the Giants are not exactly crying poor. They are one of the few teams able to compete with the Bears for free agents. They have about half as much cap space available as the Bears, the fourth most at almost $44 million.

Whether the Bears want to spend so much for a running back is the issue, even though they are capable. They have backup Khalil Herbert, who led all NFL running backs in yards per carry last year. They drafted Trestan Ebnber and he hasn't much chance to show his skills.

There are other backs who could be available, as well, such as Raiders back Josh Jacobs or Cowboys running back Anthony Pollard.

Most teams avoid the running back market in free agency with an abundance every year coming out of college and the injury risk associated with the position.

There's no doubt Barkley would fit into what the Bears are doing on offense. He could fit what any team does on offense because of his explosive running and versatility.

Chicago is where Barkley suffered his torn ACL.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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