Chicago Bears continue to send a great message to players

Most people are still in that euphoria stage regarding the Khalil Mack news for the Chicago Bears and what it means for the team moving forward.

That’s easy to understand. It could be a landmark moment for the franchise. It’s not every day a superstar pass rusher falls into your lap. He can suddenly make what was already a good defense into a great one. Everybody knows what happens with this franchise when it has a great defense. There’s a lot of winning that tends to follow.

Yet amidst the fun, people haven’t noticed a quiet movement the Bears have undertaken that speaks volumes about the men in charge. The thing to remember about the NFL is it’s a harsh business. A lot of teams tend to chew players up and spit them out without so much as a proper thanks. Some, like the Oakland Raiders it seems, would rather just go after younger, cheaper players rather than rewarding those like Mack who gave them brilliant season after brilliant season.

The Bears, to their credit, have tried to make a policy to reward their own when those players have earned it. This offseason has really shown that to a greater extent than ever before. It actually started back in January with a coach of all people.

Chicago Bears intent on rewarding from within whenever possible

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Hiring a new head coach was inevitable for the Bears. John Fox had delivered three straight losing seasons. A change was needed. That said, it didn’t mean the entire coaching staff was to blame. The team was swift to bring back defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on a new deal, impressed with his exceptional work in 2017 bringing his unit up to top 10 status.

From there the trend continued. Next, they were swift to sign cornerback Kyle Fuller to a new contract after his standout season a year ago. He was followed closely by fellow corner Prince Amukamara who got a new three-year deal of his own, the first of its kind for him since leaving New York in 2015.

The list went on. Sam Acho, Bradley Sowell, Sherrick McManis, and Benny Cunningham all got new contracts to stay put for their hard work the previous seasons. If that weren’t enough, all one has to do is look at the Bears’ practice squad following final cuts.

Excluding offensive lineman James Stone, the other nine names on that list were all players who went through training camp and the preseason with the Bears. It was a clear message that the team liked them and wanted them to stick around. These sorts of things may seem trivial, but it sends the right message both to the locker room and players on the outside.

If you come here and play well, you’ll be rewarded for it.