Bears Are Best Fit for Ray McDonald to Salvage NFL Career
Published by Gary Davenport on March 24, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
They call Chicago “The Windy City,” and the winds of change are certainly gusting at Soldier Field in 2015.
Among those changes is a complete overhaul of the Chicago defense, a change in scheme under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and the departure of longtime stalwarts Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman.
And now the arrival of a defensive end looking for what may well be his last chance to revive his NFL career.
As the Bears website reported, the team has agreed to terms (pending a physical) on a one-year contract with veteran defensive end Ray McDonald:
The 30-year-old has never been a huge pass-rushing threat, with only 19.5 career sacks over eight NFL seasons. However, three times in the past four years (including last year) McDonald has graded as a top-12 3-4 defensive end at Pro Football Focus.
Of course, it wasn’t McDonald’s play on the field that got him his walking papers from the San Francisco 49ers.
Since entering the NFL in 2007, McDonald has had numerous run-ins with the law. Last August, he was arrested for suspicion of committing domestic violence against his fiancee. In November, he was investigated by San Jose police for sexual assault.
As Dan Hanzus of NFL.com reported at the time, that led the 49ers to release McDonald, with general manager Trent Baalke noting a “pattern of behavior.”
I can say that we have had multiple discussions with Ray over time and there’s been things that have been discussed with him. And there was a plan that was put in place and this is a situation that has gone against that plan.
It’s worth noting that McDonald wasn’t charged in either case. In fact, as Tracey Kaplan of The San Jose Mercury-News reported, McDonald filed a civil defamation suit earlier this month against the woman who accused him in November.
Still, given today’s changing climate in the NFL, signing a player with McDonald’s checkered past is a tough sell for some.
In fact, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweeted that McDonald himself had to sell Bears’ ownership on the idea:
Kevin Fishbain of Chicago Football reports that McDonald also isn’t necessarily out of the woods with the NFL:
Flaws and all, McDonald was still an enticing acquisition for the Bears, given their recent defensive line woes. They also added Jarvis Jenkins on Tuesday.
Simply put, before the arrival of that pair, the Bears didn’t have a single player on the roster who appeared an especially good fit for the end spots in Fangio’s three-man front.
Jared Allen and LaMarr Houston, last year’s free-agent bust brothers, are moving to outside linebacker, as is Willie Young. Second-year pro Will Sutton has no real experience playing in the 3-4. Jay Ratliff played relatively well in his first year in Chicago in 2014, but he’s 33 and has played a total of 22 games the past three seasons.
McDonald is no J.J. Watt, but he’s a more than capable strong-side end who has proved especially adept at shutting down the run, which is music to the ears of a Bears defense that ranked a horrific 30th in the NFL last year.
McDonald has every reason to give this season his all. As situations go, Chicago is as good as McDonald could possibly have hoped for. Sure, this one-year deal likely isn’t for much scratch, and he’ll be on the shortest of leashes in Chicago where any off-the-field issues are concerned.
However, McDonald will get much more than just a chance to play in Chicago. He’ll get a chance to start for Fangio, his longtime coordinator from San Francisco.
If he can get it together, stay out of trouble and help the Bears switch to the 3-4 in 2015, one last decent payday could be in the cards before it’s time for McDonald to call it a career.
Falter or run afoul of the law—and that’s likely it.
Given all that’s happened, McDonald can’t really ask for much more.
Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.
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