Chicago Bears: Grading the early 2018 free agency moves
Trey Burton, Tight End (Four years, $32 million)
Trubisky needs a big tight end target. The tight end becomes a security blanket in case no one else is open. Zach Miller had a couple of pretty efficient seasons. However, his gruesome injury probably cost him his career.
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With Miller gone, the other tight end, Dion Sims, could not help. Sims is mainly a blocking tight end so making a lot of catches isn’t his forte. The Bears also had Adam Shaheen. He showed flashes of how good he could be but the previous coaching staff just didn’t have enough confidence in him to be an integral part of the offense.
Now, with new head coach Matt Nagy, the tight end position is critical. His offense uses a double tight end formation. Travis Kelce had 1,038 yards and 8 touchdowns and a Pro Bowl appearance.
With the 6-3, 230 pound Trey Burton and the 6-6, 280 pound Shaheen, Trubisky now has a pretty large blanket. They present some matchup problems for opposing defenses. Add the speed and big bodies in the wide receivers corps and this new-look Chicago Bears offense presents nightmares.
Burton was a backup tight end. The Eagles had Zach Ertz and Brent Celek so there weren’t enough passes for everyone. The Eagles are in salary cap hell, so the player who went down in their history through the “Philly Special” play in the Super Bowl became available. Now he has a chance to show his pass-catching abilities as well as his throwing prowess.
Being a backup, a lot of what we expect with Burton is a projection. He is entering his prime, though, and he should be a great asset in Chicago for seasons to come.
Grade: B+