Update: Kevin White 5th year option declined by Bears

[Umbali]

I know this might sound like some odd ass Stockholm Syndrome type thinking but I have to get this out! So I see comments about Kevin White and understandably Bears fans are upset about how his career path has played out. We all I would think, had high expectation for him. Sadly it never even came close to playing out that way.

Now he is healthy ( for the moment?) and we have a coaching staff that has ZERO reason to say they will give him every chance, yet that is exactly what Nagy did. On top of that Nagy is actually the first coach that White will have had that is actually able to provide him with a great opportunity based on Nagy's alleged offensive genius.

Then the draft comes along and our team has stocked up the WR corps with a lot of talent, although some of it, White included has injury risks hanging over their heads.

That being said I have seen and heard Bears fans saying they are glad we are finally moving on from him and they figure the Bears are too based on the additions recently made, even though as recently as a few weeks ago Nagy said they will give him every possible chance to succeed and that they still believe in him.

Now whether that is feel good coach speak based on him now knowing how the draft would play out, who can say? However: as a Bears fan, I find myself rooting for him, against all odds, wanting him to succeed! The reason? His shortcomings thus far surely arent his fault Brittle bones? Not his fault, unless he waged a rebellious war against milk as a child!

For me personally, I have been a Bears fan for 38 years, and honestly I am used to rooting for an underdog, under achieving long shot! Why wouldnt White be any different? For me pulling for him to succeed and do well, of course would be good for the Bears, but its also about loyalty, respect, appreciating the hard work put in, even if the results are not what was hoped for.

Kind of sounds like my life , as well as my hopes for my football team.

Give a brother another chance! Light a candle or sacrifice a chicken or goat or whatever critter you need to, to help White avoid the bust label.

Thanks for listening.

[southdakbearfan]

I hope he proves everyone wrong, I truly do, but -

I won't be surprised if he gets injured.

I would be surprised if he played more than 8 games and caught 40 balls.

As far as coach speak, remember who drafted him and who hired the coach.

At this point, production from him is bonus as he cannot be counted on to be a key cog.

[Sugashane]

He has the physical gifts to be a nightmare for DC's, but health has been an issue, to say the least. I hope he has a breakout year, but would not bet $5 on it.

As of right now, Nick Foles has more receiving TDs than White. Ugh...

[The Marshall Plan]

Part of it for me is that Beasley and Gurley were on the board when we took White. There was no reason to draft White in the first place.

Then the guy winds up getting hurt constantly while Gurley and Beasley are studs. How does Fangio's top 10, no Pro Bowler defense look now with Beasley rushing the passer? I doubt we're even having the edge rusher debate this offseason.

Luckily we have Jordan Howard, but I'd rather have Gurley.

I don't WANT Kevin White to fail, but at this point I don't see how he lives up to the billing of a #7 overall draft choice. Even if becomes marginally or average in production (which is probably his ceiling at the Bears given AR15, Gabriel and now Miller) it wasn't worth a #7 overall draft choice.

[Rakshir]

My issue was with Pace creating the need to draft a WR. Then he drafted a guy that still needed to learn the position, so even when he was healthy White hasn't been able to contribute becuase he's stilll learning.

[wab]

He's such a good fit for this offense that I hope he stays healthy.

It would not surprise me in the least if White stays healthy and catches 50 balls for 800 yards in this offense - forcing the Bears to decide if he's worth an extension. Because that's what happens to the Bears.

[VA_Mountain_Bear]

I too am hoping this is the season that White breaks out. I've had a ton of accidents in various sports, motorcycles, and outdoor activities. I've broken a ton of bones all over my body and soft issue injuries galore. I am 44 and still a decent athlete on a personal level versus a lot of 20 somethings because I push for it despite the aches and soreness of past injury and age. I like how fired up he is and how hard he is working. If the guy is determined to give his best, as it seems, then I wish him the best.

The 5th year option is the kicker. if we don't take it and he does live up to potential for a year, we likely cannot afford to keep him and Robinson. Which would be a huge suck-fest as a combo of a healthy and performing KW and AR would be just sick (with Miller in slot). If we did pick up the option then we prob can afford both later, or choose between, as there would be only a single year of overlapping contracts guaranteed. I also expect Mitch T to be even better in his 3rd year than this year, so having White stay if healthy and performing would be great. Or if he is healthy and performing we could trade him (or AR) and get some nice draft value in a class where there are going to be some premiere EDGE and DLine. The other side of the coin is obvious, we take the 5th year option and he is hurt again and we've got dead $ on the cap.

[mmmc_35]

You don't option him. Even if he has a really good year, his history will keep teams away. Look at Jeffery.

[VA_Mountain_Bear]

You don't option him. Even if he has a really good year, his history will keep teams away. Look at Jeffery.

Maybe but not necessarily so. Look at Kyle Fuller missing a year and being ineffective the year before, yet he had suitors. Allen Robinson missed last year and there were many suitors. I am not 100% disagreeing with you, but pointing out it isn't totally cut and dried.

[Mikefive]

He's such a good fit for this offense that I hope he stays healthy.

It would not surprise me in the least if White stays healthy and catches 50 balls for 800 yards in this offense - forcing the Bears to decide if he's worth an extension. Because that's what happens to the Bears.

Is he a really good fit? I can be persuaded otherwise, but I'm not sure. As I understand it, the offense puts a premium on speed and route running. While White did time at 4.35 IIRC, he doesn't seem to play that fast. Nor is he a good route runner. But maybe I'm missing something. And it's not like that's the only kind of effective WR. That whole point may be a bit overstated. At least I hope it is.

I'm not in the camp of "he's just going to get hurt again". No denying his injury history, but broken bones are fluky things, even in the NFL. I imagine that the Bears are intensely focused on his bone strengthening, so the idea that he just doesn't drink enough milk seems poorly reasoned. If he had some inherent bone weakness, wouldn't that have shown up in college?

As you suggest above, it wouldn't shock me to see him have a good year this year and seemingly surprise everyone.

[Boris13c]

I don't see how a guy who can't stay on the field can be a good fit for any offense, and I don't think his limited play to this point is enough of a sample size to make that argument in regards to White and the Bears

I want him to be healthy and contributing (finally), but I expect him to give a flash or 2 and again be on IR for one thing or another ... and if the Bears are counting on him as a key component, they are fooling themselves

[FireBrand]

Leonard Floyd hasn't been healthy for a full season. Trubisky hasn't started 16 games yet. Miller is a first round talent.

If White is healthy, it will be like we had have 5 first round picks.

[Otis Day]

Can't sit and fret if the guy is going to make it thru a season or not. What happens, happens. I would be more worried to know if Kyle Long will make it through another entire season without injury. In my world he is more important than White.

[DaSuperfan]

If they keep White on the outside and use him for 50/50 balls, deep posts and go routes - he should be able to stay upright. Keep him away from the quick bubble screens and let him use his size/athleticism to out muscle defenders. Let Miller and Gabriel work the underneath most of the time (not saying all the time - just a higher percentage).

Kevin White was productive at WV when he was utilized in this fashion, hopefully Nagy can see that too and start using him in that role so that he can salvage a career in the NFL.

[UOK]

No 5th year option for Kevin White.

[Umbali]

They declined his 5th year option for 13 million ( thank God ) ....but that being said it would be neat to be having a discussion next year about resigning him based on a breakout year this year.

I do get that Pace created that need and could have signed Gurley or Beasley...but you could go all the way down the rabbit hole with thought processes like that. Every team has regrets on picks and decisions.

He is here. He seems to work hard. He has shit luck and brittle bones thus far. Maybe we call Wolverines doctor and get him hooked up lol.

Would just to have a great surprise from him this year.

I guess I tend to root for the underdog, but I really think we are overdue for some good luck.

[DaSuperfan]

As I mentioned, I think he can stay healthy as long as we keep him from running routes underneath and over the middle where he's subject to get hit more. He was much more productive on the outside in college, there's no reason to think that Nagy won't use him more as a deep threat with those 50/50 balls. I'd rather keep him healthy and salvage some kind of production out of him.

I know it gives me a terrible feeling when I think about the 7th pick in the 2015 draft having played in only 5 games within his his first 3 years - but it is what it is. Hoping the kid can stay healthy this year and make some sort of impact. I'm just not holding my breath.

[Mikefive]

Bears decide not to sign up for paying him $13.9M in 2019. Instead, he'll be a free agent at season's end.

[Moriarty]

I'm guessing this doesn't backfire like Fuller's did.

[southdakbearfan]

I'm guessing this doesn't backfire like Fuller's did.

If Pace would have picked up the 5th year option on White he would have been ran out of town while being tarred and feathered. It would have been close to 14 million for him if my memory serves me correctly.

[jamus34]

If he plays lights out we franchise him and either extend or trade.

There is NO reason to pony up $14M in guaranteed money to guy that has played 5 games.

[makaur]

Rumor has it that when White heard the news today...his feelings were hurt so bad that he might have to start the season on the PUP list.

[The Marshall Plan]

Good.

[cblaz11]

Man, that's a lot of money. To be honest, I didn't know it was that much.. Glad we passed.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

They declined his 5th year option for 13 million ( thank God ) ....but that being said it would be neat to be having a discussion next year about resigning him based on a breakout year this year.

I do get that Pace created that need and could have signed Gurley or Beasley...but you could go all the way down the rabbit hole with thought processes like that. Every team has regrets on picks and decisions.

He is here. He seems to work hard. He has shit luck and brittle bones thus far. Maybe we call Wolverines doctor and get him hooked up lol.

Would just to have a great surprise from him this year.

I guess I tend to root for the underdog, but I really think we are overdue for some good luck.

I'm pulling for the kid. He has had some really shit luck. He's seems to be working really hard this off season, and it appears that Nagy is pulling for him. If he does have a decent year, there's no reason you can't sign him to a three year, heavily incentivised, front-loaded contract, so you can bail if he's injured again in 2019. His measurables are off the charts, so if he can stay healthy, he'd be quite a weapon.

[Boris13c]

Rumor has it that when White heard the news today...his feelings were hurt so bad that he might have to start the season on the PUP list.

guess he has severe bruising due to his falling crocodile tears?

[G08]

They declined his 5th year option for 13 million ( thank God ) ....but that being said it would be neat to be having a discussion next year about resigning him based on a breakout year this year.

I do get that Pace created that need and could have signed Gurley or Beasley...but you could go all the way down the rabbit hole with thought processes like that. Every team has regrets on picks and decisions.

He is here. He seems to work hard. He has shit luck and brittle bones thus far. Maybe we call Wolverines doctor and get him hooked up lol.

Would just to have a great surprise from him this year.

I guess I tend to root for the underdog, but I really think we are overdue for some good luck.

I'm pulling for the kid. He has had some really shit luck. He's seems to be working really hard this off season, and it appears that Nagy is pulling for him. If he does have a decent year, there's no reason you can't sign him to a three year, heavily incentivised, front-loaded contract, so you can bail if he's injured again in 2019. His measurables are off the charts, so if he can stay healthy, he'd be quite a weapon.

I'm having a hard time really envisioning a role for him. Pace/Nagy said he's going to focus on playing just one position, which I'm assuming is the Z only because it removes him from being faced with press coverage/gives him a free release and he can use his speed to take the top off a defense a la Taylor Gabriel.

[G08]

Rumor has it that when White heard the news today...his feelings were hurt so bad that he might have to start the season on the PUP list.

Is that the list where they get to play with PUPpies to help soothe their feelings?

[southdakbearfan]

This all being said, what does a breakout year look like for him with the additions to the team?

If he played 75% of the year and caught 40 balls I think it would be a huge year for him. If he did that, nobody is giving him big money.

[bearsfaninaz]

This all being said, what does a breakout year look like for him with the additions to the team?

If he played 75% of the year and caught 40 balls I think it would be a huge year for him. If he did that, nobody is giving him big money.

I don't think anyone would give him big money regardless of how he does this year.