Ryan Pace Fired Back at Packers For Trying To Swipe Kyle Fuller

Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst certainly didn't everything in his power to fan the flames of rivalry with the Chicago Bears this off-season. He started by trying to sign defensive coordinator Vic Fangio when he became a free agent. Then he attempted to sign receiver Allen Robinson even though he was a priority target for the Bears. However, his boldest move came when he made an aggressive offer to cornerback Kyle Fuller, who'd been placed under the transition tag by GM Ryan Pace. It came as a shock to many in Bears nation. The Packers had never been so bold in their free agency attacks before. Pace would never allow them to get Fuller, would he? The answer wasn't long in coming. Just hours after the corner accepted the offer from Green Bay, the announcement came through that the Bears would be matching it. Most were thrilled that there was no hesitation by Pace in making that decision. Fuller was one of the best players on the defense in 2017. Losing him would've been a hard pill to swallow. Yet even then Pace had people coming out of the woodwork to criticize him, only it wasn't over the decision to match itself.

Ryan Pace knocked for not holding Packers hostage unfounded

One of the things about restricted free agents and transition tags is that the team who holds rights to the player has five days to match an offer. This essentially means they can wait that entire time, locking up the offering teams' salary cap in the midst of free agency in the process. Pace seemingly chose not to do this, matching the Fuller offer almost immediately. His unwillingness to fire back by making the Packers wait was a big missed opportunity. Except, once again, people didn't give the Bears GM enough credit. According to Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gutekunst confirmed that Pace did indeed utilize the full five days before making the match official.

That seems like such a classic Pace move. He appeases the fans and Fuller himself by verbally matching the offer in the media but still manages to get his dig in at the Packers through the business end. People can criticize him all day but this is a reminder that few GMs are more well-prepared than Pace. He knew exactly what he was doing from start to finish.