Manny Ramirez is headed to Chicago.
While it may not be the Ramirez that first comes to mind, the Chicago Bears made some minor news on Wednesday by signing offensive lineman Manny Ramirez to a one-year contract.
Ramirez comes to Chicago from Denver. Ramirez, 33, can play both guard and center and will help the Bears offensive line in multiple aspects. Not only will Ramirez provide depth behind guards Kyle Long and Matt Slauson, but he will absolutely push Hroniss Grasu in training camp for the starting job at Center.
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Ramirez’s versatility is what makes him such a valuable asset to the Bears offensive line unit. Even if he doesn’t beat out Grasu at center, the competition he will provide will make Grasu better just by pushing him. If Grasu remains the starter, Ramirez will be able to back-up three different positions. If Ramirez wins the starting position, he’ll provide a starting caliber center for the offensive line while Grasu continues to develop.
The Bears offensive line is improved, but it still has questions. Long is arguably the best guard in the NFL, that’s already a given. Slauson is a very capable guard on the other side. The tackle position is still a bit of a question mark, even if the starters are already known. If the Bears don’t make a major splash in the draft with at tackle, the Bears are going to go into 2016 with Bobby Massie and Charles Leno at the tackle positions. Massie has a ceiling he is yet to reach but has been up and down in his career. The Bears are hoping lining him up next to Long will help push him to that next level. Leno would be a phenomenal rotational tackle, and may still be a good left tackle. He is coming off a solid 2015 campaign, but there are questions as to what level he will be able to play at this season.
Pace has been careful with how he is building his offensive line. He will slowly infuse youth into it, hoping to build up a solid line, but until that happens, he will keep finding affordable, quality pieces like Massie and Ramirez to keep the ground game productive and keep Jay Cutler upright.
Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him onTwitter for more news and interaction.