Chicago Bears defensive end Jared Allen (69): Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Bears play in the third biggest media market in the country, one of the most desirable cities in the country. They’ve also been one of the most volatile teams in the league on a yearly basis. That allows it to sign some very strange players over the years.
The Chicago Bears are currently sitting with the number-one overall pick. They have a huge decision to make. They can either keep Justin Fields and take one of the defensive stalwarts, trade the pick for a bevy of picks, or take Bryce Young, the best player available. It’s not the first time the Bears have had hard decisions. This is a franchise that has tried time and time again to become a contender. Since 1985, it’s been a series of mistakes and hard losses.
With that comes some strange players wearing the orange C on their helmets. Every year, the Bears make a move to add players, and sometimes they target the stars.
In the 37 years since the Bears’ last Super Bowl win, they’ve made the playoffs just 12 times. Oftentimes, signing a future Hall-of-Famer can work out well. These are the greatest of the great. They usually have some staying power. However, that hasn’t always worked out for the Bears. In fact, it’s worked out so badly, fans probably forget they were even there.
3. Jared Allen never looked right in a Chicago Bears jersey
Jared Allen had seven straight seasons where he had at least ten sacks. Twice he led the league in sacks, including when he had 22 sacks for the Minnesota Vikings in 2011. Just three seasons later, he signed with their division rival.
Allen immediately regressed. He had just 5.5 sacks in his first year, and in the middle of his second year, he was traded to the Carolina Panthers. He signed a four-year deal with the Bears worth $32 million. He was just 32 years old at the time of the deal. The expectation was that Allen was going to be very good for much longer. He was never good for the Bears. Literally never.
The Bears move to the 3-4 defense in Allen’s second year, taking him away from his natural defensive end position. This spelled the beginning of the end. Since retiring, Allen picked up the sport of curling. It has to be going better than his time in Chicago. Allen doesn’t sound like he liked his decision to go to Chicago.
