Tim Jennings led the NFL in interceptions in 2012 with 9 and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 9^th ranked cornerback. People dubbed this as his breakout year because they’re fixated on interception numbers and he had just 7 interceptions from 2008-2011, but he was actually very solid in 2010 and 2011, grading out 15^th in both 2010 and 2011, despite the low interception totals. Last season, he had 4 picks, but he graded out as just a league average starter, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 52^nd ranked cornerback.

It’s very possible his best days are behind him, as he heads into his age 31 season and with Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli gone. However, he was still arguably the Bears’ best defensive player last season and he probably has a couple seasons left of being at least a decent starter, if not better. The Bears are paying him very appropriately, giving him 22.4 million over 4 seasons, with 12 million over 2 seasons guaranteed and minimal dead money if they were to move on from him after 2015. This is a pretty solid deal.

Grade: A-

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Roberto Garza, formerly a solid guard in his prime, struggled at center in 2010-2012, especially struggling in 2011, when he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 2^nd worst ranked center. However, he was actually pretty solid last season, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 12^th ranked center. There’s no guarantee he’ll be nearly that good again in 2014, especially as he heads into his age 35 season. However, this deal isn’t cost prohibitive (1.5 million over 1 year) and the Bears could still very well add competition and/or a successor for him through the draft. It’s a decent deal that allows the Bears to return all 5 starters from a solid offensive line that missed a combined 48 snaps all last season.

Grade: B+

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Matt Slauson, a 6^th round pick in 2009, made 48 starts for the Jets from 2010-2012, grading out slightly above average in each of those 3 seasons. The Bears were able to get him on a cheap one year deal last off-season and what started as a smart move paid off even more, as he broke out in his age 27 season in 2013, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 6^th ranked guard. He also once again started all 16 games, actually playing every single snap. He might not ever have a season that good again, but he’s definitely an above average starting guard with a very high floor.

The Bears are once again getting a bargain here, giving him 12.8 million over 4 years. Only 4.9 million of that is guaranteed, though I don’t imagine that ever mattering because he’s well worth an average annual salary of 3.2 million even at his worst. The Bears’ offensive line was one of the best in the NFL last season, after struggling mightily in the previous years, and Slauson’s addition was a big part of the reason why. This was a very good move keeping him.

Grade: A

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I thought the Bears were going to be set at defensive end after signing LaMarr Houston and Willie Young, to go with Shea McClellin as an outside linebacker who rushes off the edge in sub packages. However, I guess they decided they needed to add another starting defensive end. I don’t necessarily disagree. Maybe they think McClellin won’t be able to contribute much. Maybe they are planning on having LaMarr Houston play even more defensive tackle now that Henry Melton is gone. Maybe they aren’t completely sold on Willie Young as an every down defensive end.

My disagreement here is with the price. They are paying extra here for name value and past production. Age 30+ pass rushers are being overpaid this off-season. First DeMarcus Ware gets 30 million over 3 years, with 20 million over 2 years guaranteed. Then Julius Peppers got 30 million over 3 years, though with only 8.5 million over the first season guaranteed. This deal (4 years, 32 million with 15.5 million over 2 years guaranteed) is actually even worse than those two deals, as bad as those two deals were. Jared Allen is not as good as DeMarcus Ware and the guaranteed money is much more than Julius Peppers got.

Jared Allen is going into his age 32 season and on the decline. He graded out below average on Pro Football Focus last season, after grading out positive in 2008-2013 (Pro Football Focus doesn’t have data before 2008), and he’s probably not getting any better any time soon. Sure, he had 13 sacks last season, but you can’t rely on pure on sack numbers. He had 18 quarterback hits and 34 quarterback hurries, but he did that on 677 pass rush snaps. His pass rush productivity (sacks + .75 hits + .75 hurries divided by pass rush snaps played) was 36^th out of 52 eligible 4-3 defensive ends last season.

As he ages, he won’t be able to play nearly every snap as he usually does and his sack numbers will go down significantly. He’ll also probably become less efficient. I’d be shocked if he had double digit sacks in either of the next two seasons, rotating with Houston, Young, and McClellin. Given that they’re going to be paying him 15.5 million over the next 2 seasons (3 million in 2014 and 12.5 million in 2015), this deal is a big overpay. The Bears had been having a very solid off-season to this point, but I think they jumped the gun here on this signing.

Grade: C-

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Charles Tillman was once a dominant cornerback, grading out 20^th, 6^th, and 3^rd in 2010, 2011, and 2012 respectively. However, he struggled last year, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 89^th ranked cornerback out of 110 eligible on 438 snaps. The likely reasons for that are threefold. One is his age as he goes into his age 33 season. Another was the loss of former head coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. Going from those two running your defense to Mel Tucker is a serious downgrade that likely contributed to Tillman’s down year. The third was injury as he dealt with a variety of nagging injuries, including a torn triceps that ended his season 8 games in.

He could be better when healthy next season, but there’s a good chance he’s just never the same player again and close to being done. His age is now an even bigger concern and Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli aren’t coming back. This one year deal, worth 3.5 million, isn’t much of a gamble and it could pay off for a team that needs help at both cornerback and safety. Tillman can play either position and potentially provide at least a short term solution at one of those positions. However, it’s not a great deal either and it’s a slight overpay in my opinion.

Grade: B+

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