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Chicago Bears: Get Ready It’s Miller Time

By Wanda Wiedman

Nov 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) celebrates after scoring on a 25-yard touchdown reception with 3:19 to play during a 22-19 victory against the San Diego Chargers in a NFL football game at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) celebrates after scoring on a 25-yard touchdown reception with 3:19 to play during a 22-19 victory against the San Diego Chargers in a NFL football game at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Bears made a choice to keep tight end Zach Miller, who in 2015 finally emerged from his slumber.

Dec 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) reacts after making a touchdown catch against the Washington Redskins during the second half at Soldier Field. The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller (86) reacts after making a touchdown catch against the Washington Redskins during the second half at Soldier Field. The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

Not many people know that at one point in time, Zach Miller played two positions in college, quarterback and tight end at Nebraska-Omaha. He set school records with 1,200 passing yards and 980 rushing yards. And in 2009, at the age of 25, he was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round. By 2012,he was placed on injured reserve and waived shortly after. There is no point in mentioning his stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because well that’s all it was.

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It was in December of 2013 that Miller signed a reserve/future contract with the Bears in which someone saw something special in him. He was now 29 years old, when most teams would be waiving players when they reach that crucial age. In his first preseason game of 2014 as a Bear, Miller hit another setback as he injured his foot. This gave Martellus Bennett full reign of the field finishing his season with 90 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns. Miller’s window was slowly closing shut.

Once MIller fully recovered in 2015 he was ready to compete against Bennett by signing a one-year extension. it was now or never for Miller and as fate would have it, Bennett was not feeling the love in Chicago as he wanted more money but couldn’t stay injury free. This gave Miller the opening to step in and show the world what he could do. On November 9th, 2015 he caught a one-handed 25-yard pass as he slid into the end zone for the game winning touchdown against the San Diego Chargers.

He solidified his worth the following week against the St. Louis Rams catching an 87-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler. Bennett obviously wanted out of Chicago and the Bears obliged by trading him to New England. The Bears signed Miller to a 2-year contract and expect him to produce the same standard of blocking and receiving he showed the previous year. When most players reach their thirties in the NFL, the value of play is expected to diminish.

"In a statement made on Chicagobears.com, Miller said, “I feel like if you look at my career and my history as an athlete and as a quarterback, I’m very comfortable being a leader.”"

But as a tight end it just gets better. Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys is 33 years old and continues to be the backbone of the Cowboy offense. Former Bear and current Panther Greg Olson is 31 and shows no sign of slowing down either. Even though the Bears can easily take a tight end with one of their nine picks in the 2016 NFL Draft, Miller has the opportunity to be the starting tight end and make fans forget Bennett a little bit less. (To say fans will not miss him would be an understatement.)

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Quarterback Jay Cutler will miss the accessibility of the 6-foot-6 frame of Bennett, compared to the 6-foot-4 frame of Miller. But Miller can run up the seem much faster which is something Bennett was not able to do. As a prior quarterback, he understands the tempo of the game and will make every effort to be where he needs to be. Miller finished the 2015 season catching 34 passes for 439 yards and five touchdowns in the first 15 games.

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