Bears tight end Zach Miller was reportedly hoping to earn $5 million per year in free agency. Reality hit with a two-year contract for $6 million from the Bears, an acknowledgment that Miller is 31 years old and has had problems staying healthy throughout his career.
But Miller is expected to enter 2016 as the team's starting tight end, and should have some value in the team's offense. Chicago is shopping Martellus Bennett and there's essentially no chance he'll be back with the team next season; if they can't trade him, they'll likely cut him. The Bears might add another player in free agency or the draft (or both), but Miller is probably the guy in 2016.
If he can stay healthy, he should be very productive. He was a very big part of the offense down the stretch last year.
The table below shows Miller's numbers over his final eight games last season (last column is targets). Final row is projected totals, if he'd put up those numbers over a 16-game season. That's an issue with Miller, of course, but it gives a hint at his potential to help fantasy leagues if he stays healthy.
| MILLER, LAST EIGHT GAMES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | No | Yds | TD | Tgts |
| At S.D. | 2 | 23 | 1 | 2 |
| At St.L. | 5 | 107 | 2 | 5 |
| Den. | 3 | 47 | 0 | 6 |
| At G.B. | 2 | 10 | 1 | 7 |
| S.F. | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Wash. | 5 | 85 | 1 | 6 |
| At Minn. | 6 | 57 | 0 | 6 |
| At T.B. | 7 | 69 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 34 | 439 | 5 | 46 |
| Proj | 68 | 878 | 10 | 92 |
--Andy Richardson
