ONE-YEAR FLIERS
The deals: OLB Sam Acho, G Vladimir Ducasse, LB Mason Foster, LS Thomas Gafford, DE Jarvis Jenkins, CB Sherrick McManis, C Will Montgomery, TE Bear Pascoe, RB Jacquizz Rodgers, TE Dante Rosario.
What happened: There were hits and misses, which is typical for one-year deals. Jenkins, Acho, Montgomery and Ducasse were starters at some point. Rodgers was the No. 2 back behind Matt Forte before being put on injured reserve with a broken arm in October. McManis remained a stalwart on special teams. Foster, Rosario and Pascoe were released during the final cuts. In a peculiar move several weeks into the season, Gafford was cut Nov. 28 and replaced by Patrick Scales.
What it means for ’16: Pace believes in one-year, prove-it deals, which is how he describes them. He’s expected to make a handful again this offseason. They’ll be needed to plug holes and increase the level of competition. As for the aforementioned players, Jenkins is the most worthy of a new deal. In 15 starts, he had a career-high four sacks, six tackles for loss and 17 pressures (according to coach reviews). Jenkins has said he wants to return, but the Bears figure to look at potential upgrades first. Two of Jenkins’ sacks came in Week 3. Mitch Unrein, who was signed two weeks into last season after being waived by the Chargers, emerged late and is also a free agent.
Follow me on Twitter@adamjahns.