According to Mike Garafolo, the Bears are declining WR Kevin White‘s fifth-year option.
This move doesn’t come as a big surprise, given that White hasn’t come close to living up to his draft status the past three seasons.
The fifth-year option would have cost Chicago $13,924,000 for the 2019 season. It’s worth mentioning that the fifth-year option is only guaranteed for injury and wouldn’t have prevented the two parties from working on a long-term extension.
White, 25, is a former No. 7 overall pick by the Bears out of West Virginia in the 2015 NFL Draft. He is entering the final year of his four-year, $16.563 million fully guaranteed rookie contract and is set to earn a base salary of $2,693,598 for the 2018 season.
White has struggled to remain healthy since being drafted. He missed his entire rookie season after sustaining a stress fracture in his shin, and then landed on the injured reserve once again in 2016 after suffering a spiral fracture in his fibula.
Last season, White sustained another season-ending injury in Week 1 after going down with a fractured collarbone.
In 2017, White appeared in one game and recorded two receptions for six yards and no touchdown.
Follow NFL Trade Rumors on X.com and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
