Danny Trevathan Sees Bears as Close to a Super Bowl

Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan wasn't ready to leave Chicago, so he didn't.

"I feel like we have something special here," Trevathan said. "My work here is not done. We still have work to do. The whole goal is to bring a Super Bowl back here, and I feel like we’re so close. I didn’t want to shy away from that."

Trevathan on Friday signed a three-year contract for $21.75 million with $14 million guaranteed, and the whole package could hit $24 million.

As the Bears field general for the past four seasons on defense, it's not surprising he wanted to talk in a conference call with Bears media members about how good the defense can be in 2020. The Bears were eighth in yards allowed last year despite Trevathan's season-ending elbow injury, one to Hicks and a season-ending torn pectoral muscle suffered by Roquan Smith.

"I just want to be the best leader, the best person, the best No. 59, the best Danny Trevathan I can be and push guys to be the best they can be," Trevathan said. "I think that's what we have here, guys that work hard and care. They're not just coming here just to come here. We're working toward a common goal.

"We started a great thing here. We've got a lot of things going. It's something you enjoy and you get the most out of each day. I'm looking forward to continuing to work hard and bringing success back here."

It was a decision between Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski for the Bears because both players wouldn't have wanted to return if it meant one watching from the bench.

Whether the Bears could have kept Kwiatkoski will be obvious after free agency ends, but it seems a big demand for him has been building around the league.

YES SIRRRR!!!@Grindin_59 stays right where he belongs. 😤 https://t.co/glkCqJU1RR
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) March 14, 2020

With the Bears tight against the salary cap, Trevathan couldn't assume anything.

"You never know what's going to happen in free agency," Trevathan said, "but luckily here (team board chairman George) McCaskey, (GM) Ryan Pace and those guys, they brought to me a good offer and they took good care of me.

"I feel like it's something special when you have people having your back. It makes you want to work hard for the common goal, which is to get to the Super Bowl. My work here is not done."

Trevathan didn't necessarily look forward to another trip into free agency, like he went through in 2016 when he left Denver for Chicago.

"You don't want to mess up stuff that's already good," he said. "I feel like this was home. They've been nothing but good to me."

Trevathan is a testament to how not every NFL player has to come from the first round of the draft. He didn't get picked until the sixth round by the Broncos in 2012.

It's the kind of slight many players have worn like chips on their shoulders, and Trevathan has done it successfully. He's only 6 feet tall, and it had to play a factor in falling to the sixth round considering how effective he's been.

"I fought my way up from the bottom, No. 188," Trevathan said. "I'll never forget it. It's fun. I enjoyed it. It's a blessing."

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