Chicago Bears history is filled with plenty of what-if scenarios. What if this player were drafted? What if that player were signed? Plenty of times, the organization lets a good player walk because it’s unable or unwilling to pay them. That was the case with star linebacker Wilbur Marshall in the 1980s. Rosevelt Colvin was another in the 2000s. Probably the most prominent of the past decade was safety Adrian Amos. The 5th round pick out of Penn State became a fixture of those great Bears defenses of the late 2010s.
Unfortunately, his success wasn’t enough to justify a new contract, especially after paying Eddie Jackson a lucrative new deal. Amos left in free agency and signed with the Green Bay Packers, where he continued being a highly productive player. While it worked out for him from an individual standpoint, he admitted out of nowhere on Twitter (X) that the Bears made a big mistake breaking the defense up after that promising 2018 run.
He may not have been the star of the show compared to guys like Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, and Kyle Fuller. However, he was one of the crucial pieces who did the dirty work. He had the versatility to line up all over the field, creating complex looks that quarterbacks struggled to dissect. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that Chicago went from #1 against the run in 2018 to 9th the next year. They really missed his ability to come downhill and tackle. They never really replaced it until Jaquan Brisker arrived. Adrian Amos was a good player, and he shares an interesting point. Maybe if the Bears had worked harder to keep the defense together, they might’ve extended their window at a Super Bowl another year or two. We’ll never know.
