The Raiders have agreed to sign former Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Kwiatkoski has also personally confirmed the news, tweeting out a picture of the Raiders’ new stadium.
It’s a three-year deal for the free agent defender, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The longtime Bears backup/part-time starter will receive $21MM in this deal, with $13.5MM guaranteed, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Giants were also in the mix for the four-year veteran, per Garafolo (on Twitter).
Kwiatkoski will make $6.75MM in base salary this season, and Albert Breer of SI.com tweets the linebacker has a $3.4MM roster bonus that is essentially guaranteed at signing. He will receive that payment in five days.
The Bears watched Kwiatkoski progress into a legitimate contributor since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. However, after signing fellow linebacker Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, the Bears decided to let Kwiatkoski walk via free agency. Jon Gruden, who has been eager to fortify his front seven, was happy to take him on.
Kwiatkoski, 27 in May, had perfect attendance for his last two seasons and started in half of his contests last year. In 2019, he logged 76 stops, three sacks, one interception, and four passes defensed.
Kwiatkoski, a well-respected run-stuffer, also stepped up his pass-rush pressure last year. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus gave him an 81.8 grade in that category, showing that he’s trending towards even better things. The Broncos and Giants were among the clubs that were connected to him – at least, speculatively – before the deal with Las Vegas.
Bears would have been better off keeping Kwiatkoski and getting rid of Danny T.
Well, depending on if da Bears sign any free agents, this might mean we may get a good compensation pick in the 2021 draft.