Kevin-Pierre Louis' Departure Further Depletes Depth
The depth so critical last year when the Bears went through a rash of defensive injuries but managed to stay at .500 is all but gone.
The Washington Redskins signed linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis to a one-year deal for $3.45 million and now the Bears have lost both of their two backup inside linebackers.
Last season Pierre-Louis made 37 tackles and had three passes defensed while also making an interception.
Backup linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski agreed to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, and late Monday the Bears also lost defensive lineman Nick Williams to the Detroit Lions for two years and $10 million.
There were players in place behind Pierre-Louis and Kwiatkosk.
Behind Pierre-Louis the Bears had Josh Woods and Joel Iyiegbuniwe last year, and late last season signed former Bucs linebacker Devante Bond.
Woods has plenty of speed and was a defensive back at Maryland, before adding weight and moving to linebacker with the Bears. He has almost no actual NFL game experience aside from special teams. Bond has a little more experience with six starts and 32 games played over three seasons with the Bucs.
Iyiegbuniwe was the Bears' 2018 fourth-round draft pick but his play has been almost entirely on special teams. He played only 26 snaps on defense.
Reserve safeties Sherrick McManis, Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson, and outside linebacker Aaron Lynch are the remaining UFAs with extensive Bears experience still unsigned by another team.
Starting safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix remains unsigned as well.
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