Bears general manager Ryan Poles continues to make the offensive line a priority as evidenced by his latest project in Alex Leatherwood, a former first-round selection that has lost his way.
Leatherwood only lasted one year with the Raiders before the new regime waived him as part of final roster cuts, and Poles wasted no time placing a waiver claim on the former Alabama product.
It was exactly the move you’d expect from Poles as he continues to rebuild the Bears roster. Poles liked what he saw from Leatherwood coming out of Alabama last year, and he’s excited about the opportunity to develop him.
“In terms of success with him here, I think we all believe in player development here, and we’ve put pieces in place to allow players to be their best selves,” Poles said. “So we’re going to approach that in many different ways, and we’re going to give him an opportunity to develop and grow. Forget the draft pick thing. That’s over. So let’s start from the ground floor. Let’s build you up and take your time and whatever that is, we want to put him in the best position to succeed. [Offensive line coach] Chris Morgan and his staff and everyone around, from the weight room, we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”
Leatherwood played both right guard and right tackle during his time in Las Vegas. During his first practice, Leatherwood lined up at right tackle. But it’s likely Chicago also tries him out at right guard and continue to rotate him to see where his best fit is.
“I mean you’ve seen how we’ve shuffled people around on the O-line, so wherever he settles in, that’s what we’ll do,” Poles said. “I trust the coaches to go ahead and have a process for that, and I look forward to it. As soon as we get out of here, I’m going to go run and see what he looks like.”
