LAKE FOREST – During the Ryan Pace era, he’d arguably been one of the best players developed in house on the roster, going from a fifth round pick to one of the more consistent safeties in all of the NFL.
But now the general manager is going to have to work to find a replacement for starter Adrian Amos after he reportedly decided to go to a division rival.
Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the safety will be signing with the Green Bay Packers for the 2019 season and beyond.
The #Packers aren’t done: They are also signing #Bears S Adrian Amos, sources say. Two big deals, two huge additions on D. A former rival comes to Green Bay.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2019
The deal can’t become official until after the new year begins on Wednesday at 3 PM CST.
Taken in the 2015 draft in the fifth round, Amos developed into a consistent safety for the Bears on a steadily improving defense. Playing in 60 of 64 game for the Bears the last four seasons, he had 274 total tackles with three interceptions with 18 deflected passes, including a career-high nine this season.
PFF Safety grades for the past 3-seasons combined:
Adrian Amos may not be the flashiest player in the secondary, but he's damn solid: pic.twitter.com/22aitydh0o
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) March 12, 2019
Amos was also held in high regard by the analytical site Pro Football Focus, who consistently ranked him among the best in the league at his position.
This could be the second major loss for the Bears secondary this free agent season, with cornerback Bryce Callahan also likely headed elsewhere. An indication of this came on Monday, when the Bears reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with free agent cornerback Buster Skrine.
