Good morning!

Coby White cannot be stopped. He's a madman on a mission right now, and that mission is to get the Bulls as far from the lottery as humanly possible.

Ahead of Chicago's big 129-119 win over the Nuggets last night, White was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for last week, becoming just the second player in franchise history to win the award in consecutive weeks.

The other? Well, that's obvious: Michael Jordan—who did it in 1988 and again in 1989.

Thanks to White's last two weeks averaging 30.1 points (including last night), Chicago's magic number to clinch a postseason spot is down to THREE.​

Especially Special

The Bears signed defensive back Nick McCloud to a one-year deal on Monday afternoon, adding another free agent with extensive special teams experience.

• McCloud, 26, split last season between the Giants and 49ers, starting five games at corner for New York before being waived in November. With San Francisco, McCloud's role was reduced to deep defensive depth, but the fourth-year player received plenty of run on special teams.
  

• The signing comes a couple of days after the Arizona Cardinals scooped up Jaylon Jones, who had served in a similar capacity in Chicago as McCloud since 2022. Jones was an occasional snap-eater at corner when called upon due to injury, but he buttered his bread on the Bears' special teams unit.
  

• McCloud marks Chicago's seventh special teams-driven contract this March, following extensions for Amen Ogbongbemiga, Josh Blackwell and Tarvarius Moore, re-signing Scott Daly and Travis Homer, and bringing aboard McCloud and return specialist Devin Duvernay.

Notably missing from the list? Linebacker Jack Sanborn. Sanborn signed with the Cowboys when the new league year began two weeks ago. The Lake Zurich native's departure caught some by surprise due to his versatility as a plug-and-play SAM linebacker, his value on special teams and his expected inexpensive price tag.

But Matt Eberflus, Dallas' new defensive coordinator, got full custody of Sanborn in the divorce. And all it'll cost the Cowboys is $1.5 million in 2025.

After all, Chicago opted to non-tender the linebacker ahead of free agency. The interest just wasn't there from the Bears, contrary to popular belief that Sanborn fit nicely on the roster as a value depth defender.

But Dennis Allen's linebackers have typically operated differently than Matt Eberflus', and Sanborn's fit in the Bears' future became exaggerated.

Why am I rambling about Jack Sanborn? Losing a depth linebacker might not seem like a big pain, but replacing him on special teams has to be a priority of special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

There are two trains of thought: One says that Sanborn embodied the ferociousness required to be a top-of-the-line special teamer who possibly could've contributed more to the defense had he been given more opportunities. Without putting words in his mouth, that's Mark Carman's thought process. Sanborn was a football player's football player.

The other thought is that Sanborn was an undrafted free agent, and ponying up any check above the UDFA threshold for a special teamer probably doesn't make sense if you're confident you can replace him with the same talent identification process that brought him to Chicago in the first place.

As for Hightower's preference, re-signing Ogbongbemiga gives us a miniature glimpse into how each player was valued by the unit and how the linebacker could fit into Allen's defense next season. It's also abundantly clear that special teams experience is a focal point in Chicago's less-splashy free-agent acquisitions. Even Olamide Zaccheaus, who currently projects as a potential WR3 in next year's offense, brings a history as a returner.

When starting depth ravaged the special teams unit toward the end of last year, Hightower was able to make do. But the plan of attack out of Halas Hall this spring seems that if they're forced to reach down to the depths of the 53-man roster—or lower—again, it might as well be with players who've been there before.

GO DEEPER: ​Speaking of fitting into Dennis Allen's defense, what can we expect from Austin Booker in 2025?​

Quick Hits

• On Monday, the Bears announced that Laura Anderson will be the franchise's new senior vice president of administration and chief financial officer. Anderson most recently served in a similar role for the Big Ten Conference, where she overlapped with former Big Ten commissioner and current Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren from 2020-2023.

Today!

• 📺 CHGO Bears @ 12 on YouTube

• 📺 CHGO Fire @ 1:45 on YouTube

• 📺 CHGO Blackhawks @ 2:30 on YouTube

• 📺 CHGO Stars @ 2:45 on YouTube

• ⚾️ Cubs vs. Braves @ 3:05 on Marquee

• 📺 CHGO Bulls @ 5:30 on YouTube

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Otherwise, I'll talk to you tomorrow!