Postseason Positional Analysis Part IV: Tight Ends

Jeff Hughes | January 13th, 2016

Right now the Bears have three tight ends on the roster worth discussing. Without further adieu, the least exciting of our postseason positional analysis columns.

KHARI LEE

The strangest move of the Ryan Pace era was dealing a sixth-round pick to the Texans for Lee, a tight end who is an exclusive blocker. (His attempts to catch Cutler passes have been comical.) If you’re looking for cutting edge analysis of Lee’s work as an additional member of the offensive line, you might want to look elsewhere. In the meantime, let’s assume Lee will be back in 2016 to validate surrendering the draft pick for the acquisition.

ZACH MILLER

34 catches, 439 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Miller has been one of the best stories of the season and from the way both he and the Bears have spoken it would be a surprise to not see him back in 2016. The only question now is how the Bears create a fair contract to compensate Miller for his production while considering his injury history. 2 years, $6-8M.

MARTELLUS BENNETT

53 catches, 439 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Everyone has heard the talk and Ryan Pace’s silence all-but cemented the fact that Bennett has worn out his welcome in the Bears locker room. Pace and Fox are trying to establish a culture and Bennett clearly does not fit within that culture.

You know what? I don’t care.

Across The Middle With Andrew Dannehy

Andrew Dannehy | December 16th, 2015

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.