The Chicago Bears need a big season from Leonard Floyd in 2018. The former first-round pick is the face of Vic Fangio's pass rush, but much is expected from free-agent addition Aaron Lynch, too.
Lynch once looked like an ascending sack artist under Fangio during his rookie season (2014) in San Franciso. He had six sacks and flashed the kind of immense upside he displayed as a freshman at Notre Dame. His second season produced similar numbers (6.5 sacks) in 13 starts, but it's been downhill ever since. He's appeared in only 14 games (three starts) over the last two years.
As a result, Lynch was recently dubbed the Bears' biggest gamble for 2018.
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Every team would love to roster a player like Lynch, a high-upside flier, but the one-year, $4 million contract the Chicago Bears gave the 25-year-old in free agency now looks like a promise for playing time. Behind 2016 first-round pick Leonard Floyd and Lynch, the only noteworthy edge defenders on the Bears roster are Sam Acho, who hasn't posted more than four sacks in a season since 2011, and Kylie Fitts, a rookie sixth-round pick.
That flier is now considered a starter. If Lynch continues to play like he has the last two seasons, that will hurt Chicago.
The Bears will be in a world of trouble if Lynch doesn't have a season similar to his first two years with the 49ers. The defense parted ways with Willie Young and Pernell McPhee this offseason, and while both players were getting long in the tooth, they still provided a threat opposite Floyd. Acho, while a well-rounded and reliable player, is not the kind of pin-your-ears-back defender that could thrive with the attention that will be paid to Floyd.
Kylie Fitts has a unique opportunity to earn significant playing time as a sixth-round rookie if Lynch struggles. That said, Fitts has had his own issues with injury and consistency during his time at Utah.
The upside of Lynch is worth the one-year, $4 million deal the Bears gave him in free agency. In fact, this move feels very similar to the strategy Ryan Pace used when he signed cornerback Tracy Porter in 2015. Porter had bounced between four teams before joining Chicago and emerged as the team's top cornerback in his first season in the lineup. He was rewarded with a three-year, $12 million deal for his play.
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If Lynch, as a pass-rusher, has the kind of rebirth in Chicago that Porter had, then Pace's gamble will go down as one of his best moves in free agency since becoming the team's general manager.