At Soldier, nothing to seat here
The Sun- Times’ experts can answer your Bears questions all week on Twitter. Here’s a sampling of Tuesday’s queries sent to @ patrickfinley, who responds with more than 140 characters:
@ Realkwallity: OK, the injuries are beyond brutal, but a crowd of 46K must really be concerning to ownership, right?
Concerning, embarrassing, pick your adjective. Almost one out of every five fans with Bears tickets Sunday decided to spend the day somewhere else. Of their three remaining games, one is against the 1- 10 49ers and another is the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The Bears thought they had an advantage when the schedulemaker gave them four of their last six games at home; turns out it’ll cost them money.
As for injuries, brutal is an understatement. Linebacker Danny Trevathan went on injured reserve, as expected, Tuesday, with wide receiver Daniel Braverman, a seventh- round pick, promoted from the practice squad and tight end Justin Perillo added to it.
@ Cmel54: Defensively, who has been [ GM Ryan] Pace’s best draft pick?
Nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who, when healthy, could be the Bears’ best defensive player, period. His instinct to sniff out the Titans’ third- down shovel pass in the fourth quarter was remarkable. Amazingly, he’s only 22— or 21 months younger than rookie outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. By this time next year, I’ll answer your question with Floyd’s name. He has looked special in bursts this year, making a believer out of me.
@ TraderjoeyG: Let’s play GM: Bears send first- round ( third) pick to the Patriots
for Jimmy Garoppolo and the Pats’ first- rounder ( 30th). Would either team do it? The Patriots wouldn’t. To get Sam Bradford, the Vikings had to trade a first- rounder in 2017 and a fourth- rounder in 2018 that can become a second- or thirdrounder based on conditions. If the Pats move the Eastern Illinois alum, they’re certainly not coughing up their own firstround pick, too. Would the Bears consider trading, say, the No. 3 overall pick straight up for Garoppolo? My guess would be no— moving your highest pick since 1972 is too much of an ask — but if they thought he was the long- term answer, maybe they’d talk themselves into it, particularly if the Browns are drafting a quarterback ahead of them.
@ ChoneRaslen: Does Jay Cutler, if IR’d this season, have any NFL market whatsoever?
Yup. Presuming the Redskins keep Kirk Cousins, Cutler would be the best free- agent quarterback available if the Bears let him go. Other candidates: Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Case Keenum. Yuck. I bet Cutler could land a starting job, given the leaguewide quarterback scarcity.
@ stephenclapp1: Is Deiondre’ Hall expected back on the field this year?
Yes. The rookie cornerback returned from a nasty ankle injury last week, was limited in practice and was inactive for the Titans game. He’s progressing, though.
@ midwaymonsters: Do you think some of the injuries the Bears have suffered have to do with the grass field at Soldier Field?
I don’t know for sure. But I’ve seen the TurfMonster rear its ugly head too often— Hroniss Grasu’s non- contact ACL tear two weeks after a Coldplay concert was particularly ugly— to feel completely comfortable with the surface.