The Chicago Bears will report to training camp on July 28 and one unit to keep an eye on is the offensive lineman. This offseason the Bears didn’t heavily invest into their offensive line that was ranked 29th in run blocking and 21st in pass protection.
The Bears also saw their long time offensive guard Kyle Long retire this offseason and looked into bottom tier free agents and late 2020 draft picks do fill some void and bring competition.
Let’s take a look at the offensive line heading into training camp.
Cody Whitehair
After switching from center to left guard before the start of the 2019 season, Whitehair saw himself playing center in the second half of the season. Entering his fifth year, Whitehair is confident that he’ll be playing center for the 2020 season, where he feels comfortable.
In 2018 Whitehair was very comfortable in playing center as he earned his only Pro Bowl selection so far through his career.
James Daniels
Before the start of the 2019 season, Daniels was the one to switch from left guard to center as Whitehair shifted to left guard. Daniels would end up switching back to left guard and looks like he will stay there for 2020.
Daniels played well in both positions but exceeded a bit more at left guard. The 22-year old played 1,069 snaps, gave up one sack, and was penalized four times.
Charles Leno Jr.
It was a rough season for the Bears veteran left tackle as Leno committed a team-high 13 penalties. Before last season, Leno has seen his Pro Football Focus rating in the 70s. In Leno’s 2018 Pro Bowl season he had a rating of 75.8.
Last year the 28-year old scored a 58.6, which gets a quarterback hurt or contributes to an ineffective running attack. Daniels has two years left on his contract and if he plays horrendous in 2020, the Bears could be looking for a new left tackle.
Bobby Massie
It was a frustrating year for the Bears right tackle as he missed six games due to vertigo and an ankle injury. Massie is coming off an average year where he was given the 9th highest contract among right tackles.
Since joining the Bears in 2016, Massie gets the job done, but hasn’t shown to be reliable when facing the top defensive lineman.
Germain Ifedi
After being drafted in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks in 2016, Ifedi has mightily struggled throughout his career. The Seahawks let their tackle walk in free agency and ended up signing a one-year deal with the Bears.
Ifedi played mostly tackle in Seattle but has had experience at guard where he logged in 63 snaps in 2018. The 26-year old believes he will be comfortable as an interior lineman. Ifedi has played 65 games in four years but has been flagged over 50 times in his career.
Alex Bars
Bars didn’t get much action in his rookie year after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame. Bars was signed to the practice squad, then got the promotion on October 15th. The 24-year old served as a backup, but made his debut against the Detroit Lions and appeared in four other games.
Rashaad Coward
The 2017 undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion has carved out a solid three seasons in the NFL with the Bears. Coward started ten games at guard for the Bears after Kyle Long suffered a season-ending injury. In those ten games, Coward allowed one sack and was called for four penalties in 2019.
Ifedi seems to be penciled in as the starting right guard for the Bears, but Coward is going to put up a fight against one of the most penalized players in the NFL. If Coward doesn’t win the job he will one of the reliable backups for the Bears.
Jason Spriggs
Born in Chicago, Illinois, the former Green Bay Packer, signed with the Bears on a one-year deal. After going in the second-round in the 2016 NFL Draft, Spriggs has battled injuries and tough competition among the Packers tackles in David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga. Spriggs would play in 36 games in his Packers career with nine of them being a starter.
The 26-year old has been on the injured reserve game three times since 2017 battling a hamstring and knee injury. The Bears are hoping to get production from a second-round pick and help elevate Leno’s and Massie’s play.
Arlington Hambright
Drafted in the seventh round in the 2020 NFL Draft, Hambright has had quite a journey. Hambright was a zero-star recruit, played two years at Garden City Community College, went to Oklahoma State, but had his season cut shirt to injury, then transferred to Colorado where he started all 11 games, racked up 68 knockdown blocks, 12 touchdown blocks and 13 perfect plays on passing touchdowns.
Hambright doesn’t have an impressive resume, but the Bears are hoping to get the most out of the 300-pound lineman and help him reach his potential.
Lachavious Simmons
The Bears drafted another seventh-round lineman and that was Simmons from Tennessee State. Simmons was the only player in the 2020 NFL Draft that was from a historically black college and university that was selected. The 23-year old started all 12 games for the Tigers where he played seven at guard and five at tackle.
Corey Levin
The 25-year old has been a bit of a journeyman in the past year. Levin was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 2017 NFL Draft but was waived before the 2019 season started. The Denver Broncos would end up claiming the center of out Chattanooga but would place him on the practice squad. The Bears would sign Levin off the Broncos practice squad on November 30th.
Heading into his fourth season, Levin has appeared in 16 games and has only started in one of them.
Dino Boyd
Entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, Boyd has spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Chicago Bears. Boyd joined the Bears practice squad in November and hasn’t seen in any games.
Boyd played at the University of Rhode Island before transferring to the University of Cincinnati. In one season as a Bearcat, Boyd earned first-team All-AAC honors.
Dieter Eiselen
Eiselen is one of the two 2020 undrafted free agents among the offensive line for the Bears. Attending Yale University, Eisleen had an incredible four years where he started 34 games. The 2019 season was the biggest season for Eisleen as he was placed on First Team All-Ivy Team and the AP FCS All-American Team.
The 320-pound lineman would help Yale win the Ivy League championship and was selected to participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Eisleen was also inducted to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.
Sam Mustipher
Ryan Pace brought in another undrafted free agent lineman out of Notre Dame in 2019 with Mustipher. The 23-year old didn’t get any playing time last year as he was on the practice squad. All odds are against Mustipher to make the roster, but he could have a chance to earn another spot on the practice squad.
Badara Traore
The second 2020 undrafted free agent is from the defending national champions LSU Tigers. Traore has had quite the journey as he played two years at ASA College in Brooklyn, New York, earning himself a spot on the Northeast Football Conference first-team All-Offense.
Traore would transfer to LSU as the top junior college recruit in the nation and play in 26 games with five starts at tackle and helped out on special teams.
