Grading the Bears’ signing of LB Nicholas Morrow
The Chicago Bears added to their revamped defense on Tuesday evening, reportedly agreeing to a deal with former Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow. The signing was first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
Morrow comes over to the Bears after spending his first five seasons with the Raiders. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and worked his way up the depth chart. In 2020, he started 11 games on defense, playing his best season of his young career.
Morrow had career highs in total tackles (78), tackles for loss (eight), sacks (three) and QB hits (six). Unfortunately, he missed the entire 2021 season after suffering a foot injury in preseason. The young linebacker now lands in Chicago as a potential starter next to Roquan Smith.
The Bears could, and probably will, continue to add at the linebacker position in free agency and the draft, but here’s how we’re grading the initial signing of Morrow.
Grade: B*
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
This grade deserves an asterisk seeing that the details of the contract have yet to be revealed. But if this signing doesn’t break the bank, which would be a surprise if it did, then the Bears have a low-risk, high-reward situation on their hands.
Morrow is coming off injury and hasn’t played since 2020. However, he has been ascending in each professional season and was slated to be a starter for the Raiders heading into last year prior to his injury. The talent is there and he could compliment Smith well in head coach Matt Eberflus’ system.
One of those compliments involve his speed. As Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron points out, both Morrow and Smith are nearly identical in their 40-yard dash times.
Roquan Smith ran a 4.51 40-yard dash. Nicholas Morrow ran a 4.52.
The new #Bears regime wants speed, and they now have two super athletic linebackers on their roster.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) March 16, 2022
It appears both Ryan Poles and Eberflus value speed and athleticism when it comes to defense and Morrow could have a sneaky-good year in the system. He’s quick, but also patient when he needs to be when tracking down ball carriers in order to not over pursue. One knock on his game might be that he isn’t the most sure-fire tackler when he makes initial contact.
Overall, however, Morrow might end up as one of the better bargain deals of the year, again assuming the contract is somewhat inexpensive. Not a bad second move for Poles.
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