Top 5 Chicago Athletes Leaving in 2016

“Chicago is a great city.”

Every athlete that comes into Chicago and play here has some sort of that above quote. A great city, a great place to play, a great place for my family… so on and so on. While all these athletes come to Chicago on the back of great intentions, more often than not they leave barely leaving their mark. Today we discuss the top 5 Chicago athletes that will join the long list of players that left before them.

5. Jorge Soler, Chicago Cubs

From the surface it would appear that the Chicago Cubs are done moving position players. With the addition of Jason Heyward (slotted to play center field) it would seem that the team is set on an outfield of Kyle Schwarber, Heyward, and Jorge Soler.

But, as the folks over at Cubs Chat explained in their article In Defense of the Cubs Outfield, Jorge Soler — if you didn’t already know — is a bad defensive right fielder. Just how bad? Well he is projected to finish with a -7.0 UZR! Jason Heyward on the other hand is a 2.3 UZR in center, which is good… above average… and in Wrigley’s outfield could actually get the job done.

But Heyward was brought to Chicago on an 8 year $184 million contract, and on a contract that big, when the player isn’t filling up the stats on the back of a baseball card, he had better contribute from a defensive perspective. The best way for Heyward to do that is by playing right field. Even if dealing Soler creates another hole in the outfield, the team would rather find a way to fill the center field hole, than watch as they don’t get as much out of their largest investment on the field.

Fangraphs suggests that the Cubs could target either a pitcher, a centerfielder, or both with Soler. Would it seriously surprise anyone if the Cubs front office, who have already been aggressive, would continue to push the pedal?

4. Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears

Over the past decade there might not have been another Chicago Bear that you could rely on more than Robbie Gould. The small, slender, unknown placekicker that came onto the Bears and into fans hearts ever since has fallen upon tough times in Chicago.

Bears Robbie Gould misses game-winning field goal

Not only has Robbie missed a pair of huge field goals over the last two games, he has missed three consecutive field goal attempts, for the second time this season. Additionally, he is 26 for 32 in field goal attempts (81.3%) and is coming off of a 2014 season in which he was 75% which was the lowest percentage of his career. The recent misses, his struggles overt the pay two years, and his salary have provoked Bears fans to call for his head.

Gould’s case doesn’t get much stronger when looking at the big picture of the Bears roster. Robbie came into the 2015 season as the third highest paid kicker in the league, and has compiled a 79.5% over the past two seasons.

When the new Bears regimen of John Fox and Adam Gase have no vested interest in Gould, and he has a valuable $4.1 million cap hit, he will have a bullseye on him after the season.

3. Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks

Andrew Shaw has been one of those gritty guys that hockey fans love. He is under-sized, but with big heart. He is asked to forgo skill, and instead is asked to go to those tough areas of the ice, giving up himself when others may not.

While Shaw has been a fan favorite during his time in Chicago, due to plays like the one above, he represents a salary cap number that will only increase. With predictions that the NHL salary cap will only increase about $3 million ($71 to around $74 M), it begins to become more and more difficult for Stan Bowman to justify keeping one of Joel Quenneville’s security nets, especially if he expects an increase in pay.

With the Blackhawks needing to address their second pairing defenseman either at the deadline or in the offseason, and Marcus Kruger expected to be a free agent as well, there just isn’t enough money to go around.

This doesn’t account for the Bowman magic, but at this point the Blackhawks have written contracts to the extent that they are forced to make extremely hard decisions, on very talented guys.

2. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears

Along with Robbie Gould, Matt Forte is considered one of the most reliable Bears. Forte has consistently been the best offensive player, providing the most consistent performance.

The talk track on Forte from every NFL announcer when covering the Bears is that he is the most underrated player in the league. A guy who owns the NFL record for receptions by a runningback, and has accounted for 33% of the Bears offense, is still underrated.

So why will the Bears cut ties with Forte? Age.

If Matt was a 26 year old with his resume,  Forte would have never had a chance to enter free agency. But he’s not, he’s guilty of turning 30 years old at a position where it’s considered a sin to do so.

Another factor is coach John Fox’s theory on running backs. Traditionally Fox hasn’t gone with a single back. He’s been much more comfortable going with multiple backs, guys that all bring different aspects to the game, and interchanging them all. Adam Gase came from an organization that never stressed a featured back as well, spelling that this new regime just will not commit to a single back, regardless of the resume.

If Forte is looking to earn more than $4 million a season going forward, it just won’t be in Chicago.

1. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Chicago’s son, Derrick Rose has had one of the brightest of stars, and we’ve witnessed it crumble so incredibly fast and hard.

Rose seemingly had everything, playing in his hometown, experiencing success on the hardwood, and collecting multiple endorsements. His humble personality attracted even the most skeptical fans.

Then the injury happened, and another after that. When his toughness was questioned, Chicago’s second son was no longer the poster boy for Chicago Bulls baselketball.

With fans and media turning against the former no. 1 pick, there was a noticeable change in his personality. To explain why he was sitting out of an important game Rose would explain he wanted to protect his body, not for a long 82-game NBA season, but so he can watch his son’s graduation.

His son is three by the way.

That has culminated in a semi-public contract discussion which Derrick claimed he expects another deal similar to his current max contract, while sources close the the Bulls say they front office is ready to part ways with the point guard. The team sees Jimmy Butler as a better investment going forward, and the separation would be best for the organization’s future success. The official public breakup had begun and to this point there is no reconciliation.

Other outlets have claimed that Rose himself is ready to leave, and has used back channels to make a move to LA in hopes of resurrecting the Lakers once Kobe Bryant retires.