Amos or Callahan?

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Bearfacts
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I'm not gonna simply assume it can't be both yet it is possible after re-signing Massie Pace may have a decision to make here depending on the kind of money each any be seeking. In any event neither will be cheap to keep.

Of the two I personally feel Callahan would be the tougher to replace yet Amos is 2 years younger and has missed only 4 games in his 4 year career while in contrast Callahan has missed 10 in his last 3 seasons due to nagging injuries.

The benefit from that contractually may help keep his price down but when healthy he's probably a Pro Bowl level Slot CB who makes impact plays we seldom see from Amos whose steady and more available but not a huge playmaker.

Pace may do his best to sign Callahan to a deal with incentives and/or per game roster bonuses that will not have an immediate impact on his cap cost since they must be earned first the paid and charged to the cap the following year.

With Amos he may decide to do as he did with Fuller and allow the market to set his price giving himself the option via a non-exclusive rights tag to match his best offer. Here are some options to replace him if we do lose him in FA.

https://247sports.com/nfl/chicago-bears ... 28413844_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Deon Bush
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Deon Bush was thrust into a starting role late in the season for the injured Eddie Jackson. While he did not come away with any big plays, he played well in place of his All-Pro teammate.

A fourth-round pick in 2016 out of Miami, Bush finally got a chance to prove himself late this season. He started the final two regular-season games in place of Jackson and also started the Wild Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He ended the regular season with eight tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. He recorded three tackles in the playoff loss. He has limited starting experience but could be worth giving a shot this year.

DeAndre Houston-Carson
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A sixth-round pick out of William & Mary in 2016, Houston-Carson saw action in eight games as a rookie. He finished that season with just two tackles and saw the majority of his work on special teams. In 2017 he was waived before the start of the season and was eventually placed on the practice squad. He was added to the 53-man roster a couple weeks into the season and eventually saw action in 11 games. During that time he recorded 10 tackles and two forced fumbles.

After suffering a broken arm during the preseason in 2018, Houston-Carson finished the year with 10 tackles in 13 games. The majority of his work came on special teams. He is another unproven contributor who will need to capture the attention of Pagano on film in order to push for the starting role.

Outside options

Another option for the Bears this offseason will be to look to the outside for help at the position. Without holding onto a first- or second-round selection in April's draft due to the Khalil Mack trade before the start of the year and a trade with the New England Patriots in last year's draft, Chicago's best option could be by looking in free agency. That does not mean the draft will not have options for the team, but they stand a better chance of finding an immediate contributor in the free-agent market.

George Iloka (free agent)
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George Iloka is not flashy but he just makes plays. A fifth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012, he was surprisingly let go before the start of the 2018 season and signed by the Minnesota Vikings. He appeared in all 16 games and made three starts. He ended the year with 16 tackles and one forced fumble. He has recorded 359 tackles, 32 pass deflections, nine interceptions and three forced fumbles in his career.

Iloka is a steady NFL contributor and would be a wise veteran investment for the Bears.

Tyrann Mathieu (free agent)
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The Honey Badger is the most notable name on this list. Mathieu entered the league as a third-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 following a rocky end to his collegiate career at LSU. He went on to earn All-Rookie Team honors in 2013 before getting both a Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod for his efforts in 2015. He spent last season with the Houston Texans on a one-year deal.

He has recorded 353 tackles, seven sacks, 49 pass deflections, 13 interceptions and four forced fumbles in his career. He started all 16 games for the second year in a row in 2018, racking up 89 tackles, a career-high three sacks, eight pass deflections and two interceptions. Mathieu is a dynamic safety who can make plays all over the field.

Adrian Phillips (free agent)
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Phillips is set to become a free agent following a solid season with the Los Angeles Chargers. He went undrafted out of Texas in 2014 and has turned himself into one of the league's rising young safeties. He capped off the 2018 season by recording 94 tackles, nine pass deflections, one interception and one forced fumble. He was also named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler as a special teamer. He led the NFL this past season with 17 tackles. He has the ability to play down in the box as an extra linebacker and has the ability to make plays against the pass.

He has recorded 215 tackles, 18 pass deflections, five interceptions and two forced fumbles since his rookie season. He has come on strong the last three seasons for the Chargers and will be an interesting name to watch on the open market in 2019.

Amani Hooker (NFL Draft)
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Amani Hooker is a hybrid strong safety/box linebacker. A three-year contributor at Iowa, he capped off his final season by recording 65 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions and seven pass deflections. He proved in his final year he can get after the football but he is also someone who can take some risks at times. He finished his career at Iowa with 125 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, six interceptions and nine pass deflections.

He is a reliable tackler but it is not known if he will still be there in the third round when the Bears make their first selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Taylor Rapp (NFL Draft)
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Taylor Rapp has a lot of work to do in pass coverage, but there is no denying his ability to make plays in the box against the run. A three-year contributor at Washington, Rapp ended his career with 168 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, seven interceptions, six pass deflections, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. A large chunk of his interceptions (four) came during his freshman season.

What makes him an interesting fit for Chicago is his ability to get after the quarterback. Chuck Pagano has a history of sending a large number of blitzes and Rapp proved during his time at Washington he has a knack for applying pressure to the quarterback.
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Here’s my issues....

Amos will probably end up costing 8 million a year plus..

Callahan, will probably cost 3-5 million per year.

As much as I love Amos, I think he’s a goner. If I’m Pace, I’m trying to extend Bush a couple years now at like 3 million per.
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I'd have liked to have seen more of Bush before deciding he's a guy who can start every game. I'm not sure I trust him all that much.

He has a speed advantage over Amos but Amos is 10lbs heavier and from appearances stronger as well.

Both are "bangers" who'll hit you but where Amos is the terrific scheme guy whose seldom out of position Bush began his career with a college rep of often being out of position and "freelancing" far too often. Has that changed?

To me Bush is more of a FS type but not even close to Jackson talent wise and Houston-Carson hasn't shown any starting ability either. It think both are good experienced depth and valuable ST guys but I'm not seeing either being an Amos.

If we end up letting Amos sign elsewhere I guess I'm thinking we'd be better off to bring in a vet SS we might sign for less so that at least we have some good competition for the starting spot.

The other alternative is can Pace find another Amos type in the middle rounds of the draft who looks good enough to come in and compete for a starting role as Amos did?
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If forced to choose, I think I'd take Callahan assuming he is recovering well. It's easier to find a consistent SS than a nickle.
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Amos is the more valuable piece to the defense. SS's in general are easy to find. SS's who are not a liability in coverage are not. The whole secondary looked better this year and I think a NB is easier to replace in this defense than a the coverage and tackling ability that Amos added.
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wab
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VA_Mountain_Bear wrote:If forced to choose, I think I'd take Callahan assuming he is recovering well. It's easier to find a consistent SS than a nickle.
Not for the Bears though. It's the opposite. Demontre Hurst, Jacoby Glenn, Bryce Callahan, Crevon LeBlanc, and Sherrick McManis have all had success in the nickle.

But how long has this team been looking for a consistent pair of safeties?

Mike Brown, Kevin Payne, Adam Archuletta, Danieal Manning, Al Afalava, Chris Harris, Major Wright, Ryan Mundy, Chris Conte, Antrel Rolle.

In the last 18 years the Bears have had the same starting safeties for back to back seasons twice. TWO times. Mike Brown and Tony Parrish in 2000/2001 and Chris Conte/Major Wright from 2011-2013.

Do you really want to go back to the revolving door back there? Jackson and Amos have the chance to be special together.

I'd rather find a nickle.
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I think McManis coming in and having the success he had kind of makes Callahan's success a little less interesting. Could McManis do this over 19 games, who knows, but odds are he could with the front 7 of the Bears. Go with Amos unless his price gets too high.
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Neither. I am fine rolling with bush and mcmanis along with either draft picks or UDfa.
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I'd pick Amos every time. I think he is very under rated by most fans. He is a sure tackler and sound in his assignments which probably allows Jackson to freelance a bit more. He has also started to make more impact plays. Most importantly he is healthy and stays on the field. A quick search at https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... counts.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; shows Amos as the most snaps on Defense with 97% of them. Callahan is at 64%. Amos added another 64 snaps on ST while Callahan only 13. I hope to have both back but for me it's Amos every time.
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Well if we have to choose(I think they can retain both) I’m going with Callahan, with the amount of time defenses are in the nickel nowadays, he was a huge piece to the defenses success. I don’t trust McManis at all, he did fill in nicely but I would rather he not be on the field on defense.
Last edited by Funkster on Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I'd like to bring back Amos, if possible - but his price tag will obviously be the key factor. Callahan can't ever seem to stay healthy and Amos is the epitome of durability. I love Callahan and what he's grown into, but his health has been an issue every season. I don't think you can fully rely on him to start week in and week out.

This is going to come down to dollars though - I don't think the Bears can afford to bring back Amos at the money he's going to command.
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Bryce is a nice player and a feel-good story...but lets not go crazy for a guy that has 4 INTs, one forced fumble, and has never played a full season in 4 years....as a sub player.
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Some great posts here.

Keep 'em coming because both of these guys should now be "on deck" as far as contract negotiations and you know how it works around Halas Hall. We won't hear much until a deal is done like it was with Massie or until we're on the brink of FA in March.
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More food for thought.


Chicago Bears Keep or Pass: Bryce Callahan

by Parker Hurley 6 hours ago Follow @parkerhurley

https://beargoggleson.com/2019/01/29/de ... -callahan/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Should the Chicago Bears keep Bryce Callahan or let him walk via free agency?

With Bobby Massie signed the only debate Chicago Bears have for the time being is Adrian Amos vs. Bryce Callahan. The Chicago Bears are likely to bring one back at most at this point, and there are fair points on both sides.

After recently breaking down the decision on Adrian Amos as well as free agent names we focus on Bryce Callahan today. Should the Chicago Bears keep him or let him walk?


Keep

Bryce Callahan broke out in 2017, but had the best year of his career in 2018. He was strong in coverage, as a blitzed and against the run.

He allowed 8.2 yards per target in coverage beating his 10.1 career high. He had eight hurries this year and nine in his career which led to two sacks, a career high as well.

On top of that, the question is who is going to replace Callahan? With Adrian Amos even if they do not add a free agent they could bump up Deon Bush and pay a depth safety.

For the Bears they have Sherick McManis, a career special teamer. That is no slight to McManis who was fantastic in the NFC Wild Card loss. However, he did allow the game winning interception. Kevin Toliver is an option but outside and slot are different beasts and Toliver is typically an outside corner.

The Bears would have to upgrade from Callahan if they lost out on him.


Pass

Ryan Pace has never seemed to show faith in him. The two seasons before 2018 Callahan had to fight and claw for playing time and beat out Cre’Von LeBlanc in camp on 2017 to solidify his job.

After a surprisingly strong 2017 many thought it was time for Pace to pay his due and sign Callahan before a breakout year came. Ryan Pace gave Callahan the lowest tender and wound up being right in his opinion that Callahan would not have a market.

Still, Callahan showed up motivated in camp and put together a performance that may have you thinking the team should extend him before the big year. Still, they were confident in heading into 2018 with him as a free agent.

Yes, he played the best year of his career. He also finished the year on the IR. Ryan Pace saw him as a UDFA and got two or three years of quality play. Does he think he squeezed all of the juice out of the orange?

On top of that, while Amos has a clear backup, the Bears did fare fine without Callahan as well. They allowed a 39.5% run success rate with him and a 40.7% success rate without him. They allow a 47.6% pass success rate with I’m and 46.5% without him. That sample is 468 snaps without him and 658 snaps with him.

Would the Bears want to offer him another one-year deal? Is the market going to be what he thinks it will be?
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I don't know how the Bears can get to an agreement with these guys without letting them hit the market. Yes, by PFF grades these two perform well. And it obvious watching them play that these guys both do their jobs well when they are on the field. Neither is also a game changer. Maybe there is a team that loves one of team? Nobody was willing to test what the Bears would pay Callahan last season even though there were Bears fans upset Pace didn't place a higher tender on him thinking teams would come after him. Callahan is still what he was last year an effective player, but also a tiny and injury prone one. Teams also don't usually get excited about paying strong safeties with average size, average range, and three career interceptions.

This is the first real chance for these guys to get paid. This isn't Massie signing his third contract. So the agents aren't going to be looking to take a discount. Hopefully it turns out to be a soft market and the Bears can bring back one or both at a reasonable cost. If not then so be it.
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You guys are persuading me on Amos, who I love on the field, but don't know if we can afford him. If Callahan comes notably cheaper, that makes a difference when we're low on cap space. But maybe the bottom line is... What does Pagano want for those spots? Is Callahan too small for his liking? Or does his blitz savvy appeal to him? Have we ever seen Amos blitz?
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wab wrote:
VA_Mountain_Bear wrote:If forced to choose, I think I'd take Callahan assuming he is recovering well. It's easier to find a consistent SS than a nickle.
Not for the Bears though. It's the opposite. Demontre Hurst, Jacoby Glenn, Bryce Callahan, Crevon LeBlanc, and Sherrick McManis have all had success in the nickle.

But how long has this team been looking for a consistent pair of safeties?

Mike Brown, Kevin Payne, Adam Archuletta, Danieal Manning, Al Afalava, Chris Harris, Major Wright, Ryan Mundy, Chris Conte, Antrel Rolle.

In the last 18 years the Bears have had the same starting safeties for back to back seasons twice. TWO times. Mike Brown and Tony Parrish in 2000/2001 and Chris Conte/Major Wright from 2011-2013.

Do you really want to go back to the revolving door back there? Jackson and Amos have the chance to be special together.


I'd rather find a nickle.

This is a great post
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When it comes to the back end of the defense I trust Jackson, Fuller and Prince.

Amos has proven a solid tackle, solid safety. Ok with a moderate offer but feel he is probably replaceable with Bush as he didn't look lost out there when he played.

Callahan has proven he can cover when the bears have an excellent pass rush. I am hesitant for them to throw even moderate money at a player that had a "breakout" year on the back end of the defense when they had the most consistent pass rush in the nfl and probably best overall talent around him top to bottom. Plus he is oft injured. I didn't see a drop off in the defense and the metrics say the same when a career special teams player was on the field in his place.

How many past safeties and 3rd corners would have looked really good behind the rest of this defense that looked like complete crap in a defense with limited pass rush and talent around them.

I trust in pace though, if he decides they are important enough to throw some money at, I am all good.

If they do get deals I am hoping it is deals they can get out of with minimal impact in the not too distant future when some of the other studs like Jackson, Whitehair and others come due or there will be some real hard choices then.
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sturf wrote:I don't know how the Bears can get to an agreement with these guys without letting them hit the market. Yes, by PFF grades these two perform well. And it obvious watching them play that these guys both do their jobs well when they are on the field. Neither is also a game changer. Maybe there is a team that loves one of team? Nobody was willing to test what the Bears would pay Callahan last season even though there were Bears fans upset Pace didn't place a higher tender on him thinking teams would come after him. Callahan is still what he was last year an effective player, but also a tiny and injury prone one. Teams also don't usually get excited about paying strong safeties with average size, average range, and three career interceptions.

This is the first real chance for these guys to get paid. This isn't Massie signing his third contract. So the agents aren't going to be looking to take a discount. Hopefully it turns out to be a soft market and the Bears can bring back one or both at a reasonable cost. If not then so be it.
I think you've made a good point here and we should know soon enough what Pace's intentions are.

IMHO Massie was a go or no go decision that had to be made one way or the other. We draft far too late to be assured of a starting caliber OT and few if any available UFA would be any better or cheaper than Massie so if HH felt Coward wasn't ready to take over yet Massie was the only logical solution.

DBs are easier to find as evidenced by where we found Amos and Callahan. They won't be easy to replace but also not impossible. My guess is Pace will speak with their agents if he hasn't already to get a sense for what they're looking for in the way of a deal or at least that's how I would approach it.

Then I'm guessing he may want to look at some of the draftees at the Combine and also review some of the vet UFAs they feel may be available before deciding where to go from there. Unless one or both are willing to sign a very cap friendly deal now allowing the market to set their value may be the wisest move.
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wab wrote:
VA_Mountain_Bear wrote:If forced to choose, I think I'd take Callahan assuming he is recovering well. It's easier to find a consistent SS than a nickle.
Not for the Bears though. It's the opposite. Demontre Hurst, Jacoby Glenn, Bryce Callahan, Crevon LeBlanc, and Sherrick McManis have all had success in the nickle.

But how long has this team been looking for a consistent pair of safeties?

Mike Brown, Kevin Payne, Adam Archuletta, Danieal Manning, Al Afalava, Chris Harris, Major Wright, Ryan Mundy, Chris Conte, Antrel Rolle.

In the last 18 years the Bears have had the same starting safeties for back to back seasons twice. TWO times. Mike Brown and Tony Parrish in 2000/2001 and Chris Conte/Major Wright from 2011-2013.

Do you really want to go back to the revolving door back there? Jackson and Amos have the chance to be special together.

I'd rather find a nickle.
Decent points on the history of the position for us. McManis did step up his game when needed, but uncertain if we can count on him going forwards. Hopefully we can sign both dbs.
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Callahan was arguably our best cover guy, Fuller included. This is a no brainer for me, keep Callahan. SS is an easy replacement, and we already have Bush ready to go.

To whoever thinks NB is an easy replace, just listing guys who ran the nickle before doesn't mean they were any good at it. Callahan was one of the best in the league.
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I would rather have Callahan than Kyle Long. Not saying Callahan should be paid $8M / year or so, but my point is that solidifying the defensive side of the ball should be the priority. We can draft an OG. We're also gonna need to figure out how to pay Eddie Jackson coming up in a couple years. That's the Dion Sims money right there. Eddie Jackson should not even be allowed to go near free agency. Our defense is such a team effort which says a lot given that we have individual stars like Mack and Hicks, but Jackson is the key to that whole secondary.

If I can only keep one I keep Callahan. Playing alongside Eddie Jackson will make the other safety better.

I'm not too concerned about Amos. We can move Bush up and draft a guy.
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dplank wrote:Callahan was arguably our best cover guy, Fuller included. This is a no brainer for me, keep Callahan. SS is an easy replacement, and we already have Bush ready to go.

To whoever thinks NB is an easy replace, just listing guys who ran the nickle before doesn't mean they were any good at it. Callahan was one of the best in the league.
4 picks in 4 years and injured every year. Callahan is a nice player, but those other guys were successful.

Hardly ANY of those safeties were back there for more than a year.
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Another indication Callahan's bargaining position may be strengthened. PFF ranks him as the 2nd best UFA CB.

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/ ... all-focus/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As for McManis I would consider him as a potential fallback solution for 2019 if Callahan can't be re-signed or replaced by a younger player but McManis is 31 years old, not quite as good, and surely not a long term solution.

So without Callahan we're either gonna be drafting for a Slot CB or looking for a cheaper vet UFA. I'm gonna rule Tolliver out because I see him strictly as an edge guy without the physical tools or savvy to play Slot CB. JMHO
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I like McManis, he's a good guy to have on your team. He's kinda like Bellamy to me, good ST player, can plug in if needed and do a decent job, and has a high motor/excellent work ethic.

That said, McManis is a backup calibre player. We should not settle for him in a starting role (NB is a starting role in the modern NFL).
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Except he proved he could hold down the nickle job just fine...

Granted, he's not a long term solution at 31 years old. But if he can hold down the job for a year while John Franklin or Micheal Joseph or Jonathan Mincy or Marcus Williams or a rookie develops... then I'd rather pay him the 1.6 million he's due next year to do it over paying him that plus the 3-4 million for Callahan to do it for maybe 9 games before getting hurt.
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wab wrote:
dplank wrote:Callahan was arguably our best cover guy, Fuller included. This is a no brainer for me, keep Callahan. SS is an easy replacement, and we already have Bush ready to go.

To whoever thinks NB is an easy replace, just listing guys who ran the nickle before doesn't mean they were any good at it. Callahan was one of the best in the league.
4 picks in 4 years and injured every year. Callahan is a nice player, but those other guys were successful.

Hardly ANY of those safeties were back there for more than a year.

Interceptions are not a tell all for DB’s. Callahan can simple lock down slot receivers. This is huge for how much the bears were in the nickel. You do have a point about how frequent he is injured. I see that as a bargaining point for Pace. If you watch film on McManis he is the weakest link (without a doubt) when he’s on the field, his hips are stiff and he is beat more times than not. He did fill in nicely but I don’t think he is a week in and week out starter.
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Funkster wrote:
wab wrote:
dplank wrote:Callahan was arguably our best cover guy, Fuller included. This is a no brainer for me, keep Callahan. SS is an easy replacement, and we already have Bush ready to go.

To whoever thinks NB is an easy replace, just listing guys who ran the nickle before doesn't mean they were any good at it. Callahan was one of the best in the league.
4 picks in 4 years and injured every year. Callahan is a nice player, but those other guys were successful.

Hardly ANY of those safeties were back there for more than a year.

Interceptions are not a tell all for DB’s. Callahan can simple lock down slot receivers. This is huge for how much the bears were in the nickel. You do have a point about how frequent he is injured. I see that as a bargaining point for Pace. If you watch film on McManis he is the weakest link (without a doubt) when he’s on the field, his hips are stiff and he is beat more times than not. He did fill in nicely but I don’t think he is a week in and week out starter.
But they actually allowed a lower success rate on passes with Callahan out vs him being in?
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Bearfacts
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Just a little more data as food for thought.

FWIW Spotrac pegs the overall value of a Callahan deal @ $28 mil over 4 years/$7 mil apy.

Despite his injuries he's highly rated as an effective playmaker and this isn't far off what I estimated either.

I've looked over some of the vet UFA CBs and to be honest I don't see anyone even near Callahan's skill level as a Slot CB who'll be getting any less so Pace may have a tough decision to make here. $7 mil may well be his market value just as $14 mil was Fullers.

In this case what I'd offer is a smaller signing bonus with a significant amount of guaranteed money based on per game roster bonuses and incentive bonuses like a Pro Bowl. The per game bonuses help two ways. The first is a hedge against Callahan's lost starts and the second is a portion will need to be earned and not charged to his 2019 cap lowering that.

On top of all of this we're probably looking at Amos looking for similar kind of money.
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alexwilkins
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we gota keep Smash... He makes plays. He breaks people. And he's never missed a game right?
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