The Chicago Bears made a quick transaction on Saturday night, sending wide receiver Anthony Miller to the Houston Texans, swapping late-round draft picks in exchange. Miller, who enters his fourth season in the NFL struggled to find any sort of consistency through his first three seasons.
A fresh start for Miller with the Houston Texans means the former second-round pick will have Tyrod Taylor and 2021 third-round pick Davis Mills throwing him the football unless Houston’s franchise quarterback DeShaun Watson is cleared of allegations surrounding him ahead of the 2021 regular season.
The Bears message to Miller was simple: We’re not going to waste time waiting for you to figure things out so goodbye.
In 2020, Miller averaged just 9.9 yards per reception, a career-low. The former first-round pick started just six games, en route to 49 receptions for 485 receiving yards and two touchdowns while playing just 55 percent of snaps on offense in 2020.
By trading Miller, the Bears will also create $1.2M in cap space, per Over The Cap, none of which was guaranteed. By adding a late-round pick in the process, Chicago is now expected to have a projected six draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, a number that includes no first or fourth-round picks.
Many expected Miller to enter training camp as WR3 and be the starting slot receiver. When the Bears officially report to Halas Hall on Tuesday for training camp, the ensuing competition at slot wide receiver will be one to monitor as the Bears have a variety of options. Chicago did create some additional competition at the position by adding Marquise Goodwin, Damiere Byrd, and rookie Dazz Newsome. With Miller now out of the picture, the hope is that either of the three players mentioned above can step up and bring consistency to the table.
Besides inconsistent quarterback play, maturity issues also held Miller back from realizing the true potential that many expected him to have coming out of Memphis four years ago. Miller now gets a fresh start and a chance to turn his career around, something that could be best for him in the long-term.