Bears Give Roy Robertson-Harris Second-Round Tender
While Danny Trevathan's signing means the likely departure of home-grown linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, another player developed by the Bears has been protected.
Restricted free agent defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris was protected Friday when the Bears presented him with a higher tender offer.
The Bears announced the tender had been made, and according to Chicago Tribune reporter Brad Biggs it was no mere bottom-line tender. The Bears tendered Robertson-Harris at a second-round level of compensation, meaning they must pay him $3.27 million next year.
Considering Robertson-Harris was paid $645,000 last year, it's quite a pay boost and shows how much they think of the former UTEP linebacker. It also shows the Bears thought the market might exist for Robertson-Harris to receive some kind of an offer if he had been tendered too low.
Now, if another team is interested in Robertson-Harris they must pay the Bears a second-round draft pick if the Bears decide not to match the offer.
If the Bears had offered Robertson-Harris at a low level of $2.14 million, they wouldn't have received compensation because Robertson-Harris wasn't drafted and signed as a free agent in 2016.
The Bears had Robertson-Harris add weight from 265 pounds to 292 pounds and move from linebacker to defensive line when he came to them from UTEP. He was on the injured list all of 2016 after a heat-related illness in training camp, and then in 2017 began playing.
Robertson-Harris played the third-most snaps among Bears defensive linemen in 2018 and last year he had his most participation since arriving, at 51% of the snaps. He has 7 1/2 sacks, 65 tackles and 25 quarterback hits, and last year tipped three passes.
Like the signing on Thursday night of Trevathan, this high tender offer could also say something about another Bears free agent, this one on the defensive line.
It's possible the Bears have decided to let defensive lineman Nick Williams enter into the free agent market and they may not be able to retain him.
Williams is unrestricted and his six-sack season in 2019 may have created enough interest by other teams to prevent the Bears from signing him, so they decided instead to ensure they wouldn't lose their other valuable reserve defensive lineman.
Robertson-Harris and Williams played in a rotation with starters Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman and Bilal Nichols.
As the cap money disappears for the Bears, it can only mean they've been busy restructuring old contracts to free up cash. The scope of this will be known later.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
