Green Bay Packers: Winning the NFC North once again – this time with free agency
Linebacker Pernell McPhee is one of three free agents brought in by the Chicago Bears. Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports photograph
Chicago Bears get their guys
Players re-signed: Jimmy Clausen, Zach Miller, Demontre Hurst, Al Louis-Jean, DeDe Lattimore
Players on their way in: Pernell McPhee, Eddie Royal, Antrel Rolle
Players on their way out: Brandon Marshall
New general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox are out to prove immediately that they are in charge and plan to bring in their own guys to build the team.
That was evident this week when they traded away the mercurial Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets and then signed linebacker Pernell McPhee from the Baltimore Ravens, Antrel Rolle from the New York Giants and wide receiver Eddie Royal from the San Diego Chargers.
It was the McPhee deal that was probably the best of the week.
“I’m violent, and that’s all you need, to be violent,” McPhee told reporters after being picked up by the Bears. “No, just a violent guy [who tries] to forget about the [last] play no matter if it’s good or bad, and play with that motor and with that energy.”
That’s a pretty good attitude and one he needs to spread across the entire Bears defense – a unit that was wholly trashed by opposing offenses the past couple of seasons. If the Bears are going to earn their moniker as “The Monsters of the Midway,” McPhee is a good way to start.
In picking up Royal, the wide receiver who has had a solid career in Denver and San Diego, the Bears will be adding a player who has been electrifying in the past.
Wide receiver Eddie Royal. Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports photograph
He doesn’t measure up to Marshall in either physical presence or statistics, but he might be the team guy that Fox needs to pair with quarterback Jay Cutler and to play opposite of Alshon Jeffery.
Last season at San Diego, Royal caught 62 passes for 778 yards and seven touchdowns, but even more important, the Bears will improve special teams and their return possibilities with Royal – a solid, experienced return man.
Royal has played in a total of 98 games in his eight-year career, catching 338 passes for 3,750 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Antrel Rolle was hoping there would be a team out there who might be looking for his services and it wasn’t long before the Bears came knocking. Chicago signed him to a three-year, $11.25 million ($5 million guaranteed) contract.
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