Andre Fluellen now signed

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

RT @BradBiggs: #Bears have agreed to terms with DT Andre Fluellen. He has spent majority of his career with #Lions and he will sign a 1-year contract.

[Stinger226]

RT @BradBiggs: #Bears have agreed to terms with DT Andre Fluellen. He has spent majority of his career with #Lions and he will sign a 1-year contract.

I think were rolling the dice on some bodies and we will see how they shake out.

[Stinger226]

I think were rolling the dice on some bodies and we will see how they shake out.

OVERVIEW

Early on at Florida State, Fluellen flashed the burst off the snap to someday earn a similar grade as recent Seminole first-round defensive tackles Travis Johnson and Broderick Bunkley. In starting 23 games as an underclassman, expectations were high entering his senior season. Unfortunately, he was robbed of his chance at a breakout campaign by a series of injuries. When healthy, Fluellen shows the quick first step to be a disruptor from the inside, but his lack of size and strength makes him more of a rotational player than a future starter.

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS Positives: Short, thick frame with adequate muscle development. ... Could add some mass without a significant loss of quickness. ... Best asset is his initial and lateral quickness. ... Can penetrate gaps and close on the ballcarrier to make impressive tackles behind the line. ... Good effort in pursuit. ... Has the strength and savvy to slip blocks as backs run by him and make the tackle near the line. ... High effort player who is viewed as a team leader. Negatives: Never enjoyed the breakout campaign that was expected of him. ... Has struggled with consistency throughout his career. ... Marginal upper body strength is worsened by the fact that he often plays with poor pad level. ... Limited to the under-tackle (three technique) position as a 4-3 tackle due to his lack of size and strength. ... No major injuries throughout his career, but tends to be nicked up often.

[scs787]

I still want them to add a DT who's not limited to the 3 tech because of lack of size. If Paea were to ever go down we'd be pretty thin up front, and I'm not talking about depth. Could use a big'un to rotate with Paea.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Fluellen is horrible. There's no way of sugar coating this. He's simply a body who may or may not make the team.

[Stinger226]

I still want them to add a DT who's not limited to the 3 tech because of lack of size. If Paea were to ever go down we'd be pretty thin up front, and I'm not talking about depth. Could use a big'un to rotate with Paea.

I agree, I dont understand that signing, because we need a bigger guy to back up Paea.

[Stinger226]

Fluellen is horrible. There's no way of sugar coating this. He's simply a body who may or may not make the team.

I dont think these signing affect our cap, its the cost of the top 51 roster spots, and I bet these are low value contracts.

[dawhizz]

I still want them to add a DT who's not limited to the 3 tech because of lack of size. If Paea were to ever go down we'd be pretty thin up front, and I'm not talking about depth. Could use a big'un to rotate with Paea.

 

I agree that the Bears could use a big body, but at 6'2" 302 (according to NFL.com), Fluellen isn't exactly undersized. In fact, he would be our heaviest DT, according to the numbers on ChicagoBears.com.

[AZ54]

For camp competition for the last spot in the rotation he's fine. Every team brings in guys like this.

[balta1701-A]

For camp competition for the last spot in the rotation he's fine. Every team brings in guys like this.

I feel like it's somewhat interesting to see the Bears bringing in their camp competition at a number of positions now, before the draft. That strikes me as unusual.