Two years ago, the Bears decided they couldn’t stomach running games and tight ends continually pounding their defense over the middle. Two years ago, they decided to sign Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathan in free agency to give them playmaking, not just respectability at inside linebacker. And two years ago, these moves seemed foolproof until they weren’t.
Flash forward to the present day and the now out of football Freeman started only 13 games in two years due to a variety of injuries. Trevathan, one of the lynchpins of a dominant Super Bowl-winning Broncos defense, has missed 12 starts since then.