Tonyan signing highlights trend for the Bears |
On offense and defense, the Bears have been signing players to improve their team. One that stood out a bit was the acquisition of former Packers’ tight end, Robert Tonyan, a lifelong Bears’ fan who is finally returning to his hometown team. While the Bears certainly needed another tight end to work with
Cole Kmet, Tonyan’s signing shows a common trend for the Bears and even the entire NFL - how Aaron Rodgers’s contract with the Packers has benefitted the rest of the teams.
In the 2022 playoffs, multiple teams had a player that was on the Packers in 2021, including the Minnesota Vikings with Za’Darius Smith, the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs with Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Elite receiver Davante Adams was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Bears acquired Equanimeous St. Brown who now has received a contract extension; the Detroit Lions signed running back Jamaal Williams back in 2021. In other words, every team in the NFC North, plus additional teams, benefited from Rodgers’ contract, except the Packers. Now it’s 2023. It’s the offseason. Again, we are having the “Is Rodgers coming back to the Packers?” debate. In the meantime, Green Bay needs to prepare as if he might be. So, it’s another year of the Packers releasing more offensive weapons. What does that mean? It means the Bears got Tonyan. Let’s look at this from another angle - offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Where did he come from? Green Bay. In other words, the Bears have picked up three offensive weapons in the past two years from their archrival - St. Brown, Tonyan, and Getsy. It makes sense that Getsy wanted to come to Chicago. Clearly, the Bears have a younger, more agile, and less egotistical quarterback and, thus a more stable foundation to build the team around. Fields excelled in his first year with Getsy, while Rodgers plummeted, and so did his receiver core because of his contract. So, the trend here is that the Packers keep hurting themselves. But as Bears fans, that’s fine with us, especially when we can reap the benefits over and over. As long as Rodgers is in the NFL, even if he goes to the New York Jets, there will be a team to benefit from because his contract is so massive. If he does end up staying with Green Bay, he is set to make a total of $59,515,000 in yearly cash this season. Despite their cap space right now, that contract is still preventing them from improving as a team. This could help the Bears to have a chance at the division title, given it is more of a three-team race right now. Going back to our newest acquisition from Green Bay, Tonyan, his connection to Getsy from both of their time with the Packers is part of the reason he is excited to play for the Bears. As a lifelong fan, he is certainly proud to play for his favorite team. At the same time, it is refreshing to be returning to a familiar system and not have to start from scratch learning the offense. “Super pumped. I talked to (Getsy) yesterday,” Tonyan said. “Just the familiarity with the offense and how it’s, like, spoken, and I think was, like, the biggest thing that I’m excited about is not (having) that weird learning curve or kind of feeling out the offense. I can just come in and just help young guys with the details of this offense that I’ve (been in) for the past five years.” Getsy has shown his vision for the offense, as well as the effectiveness of his scheme. Adding Tonyan will serve to help the Bears improve their offense overall and if the defense follows suit, perhaps even become a playoff contender as soon as next season.
