Jerrell Freeman signs with Bears for $4 million per year

The Indianapolis Colts opted not to re-sign linebacker Jerrell Freeman and now have a large hole on defense.

The Colts now have an important position on defense to fill this offseason after middle linebacker Jerrell Freeman opted to sign with the Chicago Bears. The deal is reportedly for three years and worth $12 million, with $6 million guaranteed.

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The Colts are now left with an aging, and limited, D’Qwell Jackson and a number of question marks to fill the void left by Freeman’s departure. They still have Sio Moore and Nate Irving, but it remains to be seen if either can bring the versatility that Freeman did last season. The Colts now desperately need a linebacker who can cover, while also being a capable against the run.

Pro Football Focus had Freeman as their fifth highest graded free agent, who finished the season with a 90.6 (out of 100) which was also fourth among all linebackers last season. For comparison, Jackson ended 2015 with a 55.9 grade, Irving had a 66.1 in just over 100 snaps, and Moore did not have enough snaps on defense to get a grade.

The Colts had roughly $10 million to spend in free agency after a few re-signings and allocating money for the upcoming rookie class and Andrew Luck‘s looming contract. But the terms of this deal with the Bears make it seem like the Colts really didn’t value Freeman at all.

The Colts could have easily spared the $4 million per year to sign a valuable player like Freeman. With the Colts letting him walk, it makes you wonder what the plan is for GM Ryan Grigson. But it might be that Freeman just decided he wanted to move on.

While this is a business, it seems baffling that you would move on to a new city (a more expensive one at that) for the same amount of money. Couple that with the fact that at this number, the Colts clearly had some wiggle room to up the offer even slightly to entice him to stay in Indy.

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Freeman has been an important part of the defense for the past four seasons and has gotten better every year. The Colts signed Jackson to a deal that was for longer and worth more money two years ago, despite his clearly being the inferior player. For a team that has long discussed being better against the run, it doesn’t make sense that they let their best run-stopper walk.

Regardless, the deal is done and now the Colts are stuck looking for a capable replacement to fill Freeman’s shoes, something that will be much easier said than done.