In Eddie Goldman's absence, here's who the Bears could bring in for 2020

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Bears fans woke up this morning (we're all sleeping until 10am these days yes?) to the news that stud defensive tackle Eddie Goldman will be opting-out of the 2020 NFL season due to COVID-19 concerns. First and foremost – and as Insider JJ Stankevitz wrote shortly after the news broke – good for him. Undoubtedly a difficult decision, Goldman should be commended for putting the health of himself and those around him before football. Bears fans who don't plan on welcoming him back with open arms in 2021 should maybe do some self-inventory. 

And for now, at least, the 2020 NFL season is still chugging forward as collectively bargained. Purely from the on-field production perspective, losing Goldman is brutal for the Bears. The team has encouraging amounts of depth on the defensive line, but Goldman is a uniquely talented player. He's an elite run-stopper, and as Danny Trevathan called him, an inside linebacker's "best friend." 

The cap ramifications aren't insignificant, either. Because Goldman had already received his $3 million roster bonus for 2020, the Bears will save around $4.8 million in cap space with the opt-out. That brings them to $16 million in total cap space right now – plenty to work with, should Ryan Pace want to venture back out into the free agent market. Even more good news for Pace: there are some intriguing names out there. Now granted, all of these guys remain unsigned as training camp begins and weren't on the Pace's radar until a few hours ago, but if they don't feel John Jenkins is the answer, there could certainly be worse free agent pools to choose from. 

The Obvious Name: Jadeveon Clowney 
Clowney really only appears on this list because of how deeply his market bottomed out this offseason, but he's on the board, so let's talk about him. He's very good! His pass-rushing career has been underwhelming so far, which is as evident under the surface (PFF's 34th ranked pass-rusher of 2019) as it is on top (31 sacks in six years). In an admittedly-intriguing twist of fate, Clowney's actually been a far better run-defender than pass-rusher so far. Consistency's a fair critique, but he's posted in 80+ run grade at PFF in every season after his rookie year in 2014. It's not a perfect fit; of the 712 snaps he played on last year, 514 came on the left or right edge. Another 143 came at left and right linebacker. You'll remember that the Bears don't exactly have starting edge jobs available at the moment, and even on a prove-it season, Clowney's probably not looking to be paid like an interior run-stopper/rotational pass rusher. 

Don't hold your breath for Clowney, but Bears fans who think it's a fit and are scared to tweet about it: you are seen. 

The More Obvious Name: Damon Harrison 
This one makes, like, actual sense and probably should happen? Harrison has been elite against the run for most of his career, the caveat being that well, last year, he wasn't! No one's perfect. Before a disastrous 2019 season in Detroit, Harrison had posted 90+ run grades in four straight seasons, and five of the last six. He led all defensive tackles in run stop percentage for four straight seasons (14-17) not too long ago. There's no way around how bad last year was for him – he had the 7th worst tackling grade of all defensive tackles who played last year – but I'd imagine there's still some hope that Harrison can be a productive player surrounded by all the Bears' defensive talent. 

Maybe Slightly Less Obvious Names, Maybe Not: Mike Daniels/Tim Jernigan
Daniels has had an up and down career with Green Bay and Detroit, flashing real pass-rushing potential in 2015 and 2017. He's never been a great tackler, and his run defense hasn't been great over the last two seasons. He only played in nine games before going on Injured reserve, so fresh start, fully-healthy, etc. 

Tim Jernigan's had his own health issues in Philadelphia, but has good numbers against the run and frankly at this level, it's probably John Jenkins' job to lose anyway. 

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