Eddie Jackson has NOT been a fan of the recent moves the Chicago Bears made at the trade deadline. The star safety for the Bears questioned the thought process of the organization’s upper management. Most of his frustration was due to the team trading away two of their best defensive players in Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn. Though it wasn’t just that those two guys were stellar defensive players in their own right. It damages the defense even further because they were each considered captains and leaders of the locker room.
Jackson spoke to the media and said, “Your thoughts start to go through your head like, what are we playing for? Is their vision still the same as the players? We’re trying to make it to the Super Bowl, get to the playoffs, things like that. Like I said, I’m not upstairs, I get it. I understand it. But it just hits different.”
It’s tough to blame Jackson for his questioning regarding these trades. Chicago made these moves seemingly with the intention of rebuilding their franchise quarterback Justin Fields. However, at the same time, they chose to give away a second-round pick for Chase Claypool off of the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, they appear to be giving away much of their defensive talent while adding offensive ones? Just a confusing time to be around the Chicago franchise right about now.
Jackson also said, “Especially to the young guys, they’re looking at us like, yo, is this normal? Does this happen? But this is the type of stuff that goes on. So, we just got to rally around each other, and the older guys got to step up.” With Smith and Quinn off the team now, there’s a strong chance that we will see them attempt to rally around scheme. After all, their head coach Matt Eberflus is a defensive minded coach.
Eddie Jackson Apparently Part Of Long-Term Plans
When the coaching staff began to get questioned by the media regarding how he will be approaching this new-look defense moving forward, Eberflus provided an answer. He said, “It’s just transparency, I think that’s important. You just communicate. Look each other in the eye and tell the truth and communicate. I think that’s what we do with all the guys. I think they appreciate that. It’s right there on the table. Just set it up there and talk about it.”
The defense clearly wasn’t part of their long-term plans as an organization. However, the offense definitely seems to be the focus now that Justin Fields is their franchise quarterback. The defense has been good anyways. They are allowing the fifth fewest total passing yards per game and the third fewest passing touchdowns in the league. Not to mention that they’ve allowed the eighth lowest passer rating.
There’s no doubt that these moves will cause a tremendous amount of confusion and disgust from the Bears defensive players. Though the season isn’t lost, and their offense still has time to improve with Claypool being added on.