The Bears didn't pick up the $7.7 million option for 2012 first-round pick Shea McClellin, but they may have done him an even bigger favor.
The outside linebacker turned inside linebacker has been given that well-defined second chance that high draft picks typically get before disappearing into the NFL ether of one-year contracts.
McClellin is planning on making the switch permanent, though.
"For me this is the most fun I've had in the past couple of years," he said, via CSN Chicago. "It was rough. We weren't doing well as a team and that can get you down. You gotta have fun. It's hard enough as it is and it's really hard to play well when you're not having fun."
Working in his corner is the fact that new Bears head coach John Fox was interested in drafting McClellin three years ago. There's always the inherent desire in a coach, too, to do something your predecessor could not.
At the moment, not getting his fifth-year option will hit McClellin in the wallet. But a new career at inside linebacker would be far better in the long run.
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