Should the Bears Sign Left Tackle Eugene Monroe?

The Chicago Bears added some depth at right tackle last week when they signed veteran Nate Chandler, but they are still dangerously thin at left tackle. 2014 7th round pick Charles Leno Jr is projected to be the starter, as he was last year. Currently, the only backup for Leno Jr, is 3rd-year player Nick Becton.

Becton spent most of the last two years on the practice squad and is completely untested with just 1 appearance in an NFL game during his rookie year in San Diego. Leno Jr had his share of struggles in his first season as a starter, but improved significantly as the season progressed.

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Both the Bears front office and Jay Cutler have been vocal in their support of Leno Jr at the position and while he does have potential, he’s far from a sure thing. The Bears backed up their vocal support of Leno Jr by not targeting any left tackles in free agency, giving every appearance that they were comfortable with Leno Jr protecting Cutler’s blindside. Monroe was rumored to be available for as little as a late day three pick in the draft, but the Bears didn’t show any interest.

Is the Bears confidence in Leno Jr justified? There hasn’t been a bigger Leno Jr supporter on this site than myself, I even pegged him as a “breakout player” before last season even started, but why not have a backup plan in case he regresses or gets hurt? Pro Football Focus ranked Leno Jr as the 55th best tackle out of 77 players that had enough snaps to qualify. That’s not great, but there is no doubt he improved the last third of the season.

As confident as Cutler and the Bears brass may be about Leno Jr, I’m sure they would feel better about having an experienced backup behind him. Monroe is a former 9th overall pick in 2009 by the Jags, who started 58 of 64 games during his first four seasons in the league before being traded to the Ravens for a 4th & 5th round pick in 2014 and then signing a 5-year, $37.5M deal.

The deal has to be considered a disappointment for the Ravens who got only 27 starts out of Monroe and only six last season. Monroe clashed with management last season when he wouldn’t take a pay cut to free up cap room and then again this offseason when he openly advocated marijuana usage which is still a banned substance (for some reason).

Monroe, only 29, still played pretty well last season for the Ravens when on the field with a 79.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus which was the 23rd best grade in the league among tackles and significantly higher than Leno Jr’s grade.

With few if any viable left tackles still available in free agency (Jake Long?), does it make sense for the Bears to offer Monroe a contract? He probably won’t cost more than the veteran’s minimum to secure with maybe some incentives and would give the Bears some competition at left tackle for Leno Jr. More importantly, it would give them some depth at the position and a safety-valve if Leno Jr gets hurt or doesn’t continue to improve.

Since the Bears ill-fated signing of DE Ray McDonald, GM Ryan Pace has been very risk averse and Monroe’s pro-weed stance might be a turn off for the Bears. His inability to stay healthy the last few seasons is a negative as well, but the Bears have a unique opportunity to add an above-average left tackle on the cheap at a position where they have no proven depth.

Monroe might not pan out and his marijuana campaigning may be more of a distraction than he’s worth, but it won’t cost the Bears much if they are forced to release him and his upside at a premium position is tempting. The Bears have plenty of cap space, a lack of depth at left tackle, and a potential Pro Bowl player available at the position at a discounted rate. It’s at least worth considering.

Let me know what you think below in the comments!

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