One player that the Chicago Bears haven’t been forthright with in terms of his future is safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. That’s no surprise. They have more pressing concerns to deal with at the moment. An extension for Allen Robinson is one of them. Still, they do have to tackle this question at some point before the free agent market opens in March. Do they want to keep the veteran in place or let him walk? A better question is does he even want to stay?
There are several variables involved in this. From the Bears’ perspective, keeping Clinton-Dix wouldn’t be a terrible idea. He had a solid 2019 season with two interceptions and 78 tackles. Quarterbacks had just a 67.0 passer rating when targeting him in coverage. Considering the Bears paid him $3 million, they got more than their money’s worth. That, however, will likely change this year. Clinton-Dix took a one-year deal in hopes of improving his stock for a chance at a bigger payday this offseason. He’s done that for the most part.
So it will cost significantly more to keep him. This after handing a fat, new extension to Eddie Jackson. From Clinton-Dix’s perspective though? It seems like he may have designs on trying to stay in Chicago. Or least it came off that way in a recent tweet he sent to new teammate Kentrell Brice, whom the Bears signed to a futures contract.
There is a serious discussion going around on whether it’s a good idea for the Bears to keep Clinton-Dix. Some feel his skillset, while solid doesn’t mesh well with Jackson because he’s not a strong safety. He doesn’t do his best work in the box. This forced the Bears to move Jackson down there more often, taking him away from the area he is so lethal in deep coverage. It’s felt the best thing to do is let Ha Ha walk and sign a more traditional box safety who can let Jackson go back to what he does best.
That said, the Bears may like the safety configuration they have because it gives their safeties much more versatility. If so, then keeping Clinton-Dix makes sense. The problem is the price. While top 5 money is out of the question, a top 12 deal is something he’ll try to shoot for. That comes around to $9 million per year at least. Keep in mind the Bears weren’t willing to pay Adrian Amos that exact deal last year. Is Clinton-Dix that much better than he was?
This is the question they’ll need to answer in the next two months. It does seem like the safety is at least willing to negotiate though.
