Entering his fourth year, Marquess WIlson is running out of time. He might also be looking at the best opportunity he has had in his career.

While Alshon Jeffery still doesn’t want to be a part of the team, Wilson is the person who benefits the most, getting all of the first-team reps. OTAs are where a finesse player like Wilson can thrive and, while he won’t be able to win a job until they put the pads on, the fact that he’s there getting reps in front of the new offensive coordinator (with a quarterback who already likes him) can only help him.

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Here are three questions in the early stages of the offseason program.

(1) Is there light at the end of the Alshon Jeffery / Bears organization tunnel? I’ve argued many times that if the Bears valued Jeffery as a top receiver his contract would take about thirteen minutes to complete. There are literally a dozen templates out there. The truth is they don’t – at least right now – and Ryan Pace seems not only content with Jeffery playing 2016 on the tag but that seems to be his preference. So…when does Jeffery show up?

(2) Who is lining up next to Adrian Amos at safety come September? If you look at this roster it might be the only position that is truly up for grabs.

(3) Can they stay healthy? No other question really matters until the Bears kick off in Houston on September 11th.

While wide receiver seems like a position of strength, the Bears appear to be pursuing players that would lead us to believe they’re not satisfied.

I try not to believe too much on the first day of free agency but the fact that a Seattle-area journo reported Jermaine Kearse was being pursued by the Bears is interesting. Their sales pitch to Kearse had to be based on opportunity. They couldn’t have been trying to sell him on being their third receiver over being the second receiver in Seattle, even if it were for more money.

Couple that with the fact that earlier this week it was reported the Bears were setting up a visit with Baylor receiver Corey Coleman, a likely first-round pick, and you have a team showing genuine interest in wide receivers.

I’m told former #Baylor WR Corey Coleman has workouts and/or visits lined up with the #Bengals, #Lions and #Bears among others.

— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) March 22, 2016

They’d probably have to use their first round pick — either at number 11 or a trade back — to net Coleman. Would they be spending a top draft pick on a receiver they expected to be the third or fourth option? Even if they’re just considering him with the 41st pick,  they’d still expect Coleman to be one of their top two receivers going forward. Investing a huge contract in one receiver and high picks on two others just doesn’t make sense for a team that wants to run the ball.

So, what aren’t they telling us?

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Ian Rapoport reported last week the Bears are open to not bringing back Alshon Jeffery in 2016. Here are some thoughts.

• I’ve never believed the theory that the Bears selected Kevin White in the 2015 draft because of a best player available philosophy. I believe they selected White because they envision him as a dynamic, game-changing, number one wide receiver. By the same token they don’t view Jeffery that way. Does Jeffery have that potential? Absolutely. But is he among the game’s best at the position? No.
• Leaking this news to RapSheet serves a particular purpose for the Bears. They have now let people in Jeffery’s camp know they are comfortable with him walking out the door. It’s very clear the Bears don’t intend to break the bank for Jeffery so they are trying to convince him to take a team friendly, long-term deal.
• The Bears have a ton of cap space. Not sticking Jeffery with the franchise tag makes zero sense if they believe he’s part of their future.
• If Ryan Pace decides to move on from Jeffery, he better be sure. Letting a terrific player leave your organization in his prime, especially if he succeeds elsewhere, is not something fans let a GM forget.

Dannehy with Hatman

Having some trouble with the sound quality when transferring Soundcloud to WordPress so I’m simply embedding Andrew’s Tweet in this space. Dan Hatman is a quality follow on Twitter and his conversation with Dannehy is worth your time.

A little dated due to technical difficulties, a pod with @Dan_Hatman where we discuss Fox/Broncos and Forte: https://t.co/fpfniD4OfY

— Andrew Dannehy (@ChiBearsAD) February 14, 2016

THREE THOUGHTS FROM AROUND THE BEARS

• After a few days I can honestly say I didn’t like the 30-for-30 on the 1985 Bears. Why? (1) There was very little new information in the film. Having seen/read just about everything on the subject, ESPN offered a survey course on a subject I’ve devoted my life to. (2) The film wasn’t made very well. The focus – especially the Buddy Ryan excess – was off. The score was bizarre. The narration was poorly written and poorly cast with Vince Vaughn. (How can you not have an iconic Chicago voice attached to a project like this? Adam Jahns narrating would have sounded far better.) If you’ve never heard of this team, it’s a worthwhile investment of your time. If you know a lot about them it offers little more than a few smiles and a chance to dive once again into nostalgic waters. People who call this one of the best 30-for-30s are lost.

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If the Bears can ever get — and stay — healthy at the wide receiver position, their offense should really take off. Their top four receivers missed a combined 36 games, with the only one playing over half their snaps being Marquess Wilson. Youngers players stepped up and made plays but the position, expected to be a strength, ended up being a weakness.

ALSHON

If you took the numbers Alshon Jeffery put up in 8 1/2 games this season and calculated them out to a 16-game total, you see a star. The numbers are roughly 102 catches, 1,520 yards and eight touchdowns. Looks great, but you can’t give him credit for 16 games when he doesn’t play 16 games. Injuries are his biggest problem and there’s no reason to think they will go away. So how do the Bears assign him a value?

By not signing Jeffery before the season, the Bears made it clear they didn’t view him as an elite receiver. As good as he was at times, it’s hard to say he did anything to increase his value. The Bears can’t let Jeffery hit the open market, however, because someone else will offer him top-tier receiver money and Chicago doesn’t have a replacement. Whether it be with the Franchise Tag or a long-term contract, the Bears need to bring Jeffery back.

WHITE

We don’t know what Kevin White is. We think he’s a stud and when we hear Ryan Pace say he can’t wait to “unleash” him, it makes us believe that even more. Still, he’s going to be raw and nobody has a clue what kind of long-term effects the leg injury might have on him.

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The Bears have hit a wall. They overachieved for the better part of this season and there seems to be very little left in the tank. Injuries and lack of talent have finally caught up with them. When a game is this lopsided there’s little reason to dissect the minutiae but here comes rapid fire nevertheless…

• How Ryan Pace handles Alshon Jeffery will be interesting. He’s a difference maker on the field but he just never seems to be on the field. Can you really pay a receiver elite money when he is only out there ten games a season?
• Offensive line is climbing the ladder of concern every week. Too many penalties and three of the five positions have been legitimately poor for several weeks. All the skill talent in the world won’t make a difference in 2016 if Bears can’t block em up front.
• Jay Cutler’s season has stalled with the declining line play. But even when he’s had time to throw, there’s nowhere to go with the ball. No, the receivers are not getting open. But can’t Adam Gase create some easy non-bubble screen throws to move the ball? I keep hearing how effective Gase’s system has been. I haven’t a clue what that system entails.

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• Once again, I’m not upset with the fact that the Bears lost, but how they lost. The Redskins have talent, probably as much or more than the Bears, but they were coming off of a short week and they can’t win on the road. Meanwhile, the Bears were coming off a disappointing loss and questions about why they can’t win at home. You’d think the Bears would be motivated, right? Nope. They came out flat again. Six flat quarters against the 49ers and Redskins very well could’ve cost them a spot in the playoffs. That isn’t acceptable. They looked like a Trestman-coached team for six straight quarters before turning it around in the second half.
• In defense of the coaching staff, I don’t think they’re particularly worried about wins and losses right now. They’ve been coaching for the future for about 10 weeks.
• My guess on the Kevin White situation: The Bears players and coaches fully expected him to be available, but Ryan Pace made the call.

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• Upon further review, I have changed my mind about the biggest thing to come out of this game. Immediately after the game, I thought it was about their defense finally getting a stop and Jeremy Langford. Now, I think it was about Alshon Jeffery. He was awful at the start of the game, with a dropped touchdown, another dropped pass on third down and a pick-six that he should’ve prevented. He put the team in a big hole. In the past, we’ve seen Alshon disappear after those moments. Then something happened. It’s as if he grew up before our eyes. He was different. We saw him pounding his chest and talking after the play. He was pissed off and he was going to dominate. Maybe it doesn’t happen that way if Jason Verrett doesn’t hurt his hamstring, but I’m not sure that mattered. He just may have taken the step the Bears dared him to take by not extending his contract before the season.

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