The Chicago Bears are bringing back a key free agent in right tackle Bobby Massie
This week we broke down the reasons for and against bringing back Chicago Bears right tackle Bobby Massie. By the end it started to feel like bringing him back was the right decision. That mainly came down to the idea that not many strong options were available at right tackle this offseason.
Massie was not coming off of his best season, but not his worst either and the idea of keeping continuity on the line made sense.
The Chicago Bears read the situation similarly and extended Bobby Massie, extending him to a four-year deal.
This is where is becomes a bit of a surprise. Considering his age and ability it felt like a one or two year deal would have been possible. The team could use him as a space saver for Rashaad Coward, who has been developing behind him.
However, extending Massie for the the next four seasons means potentially paying him until he is 33 years old. That is typically past an NFL players prime.
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The guarantees of the deal have yet to be announced and will tell the difference. Expect the first two years to be filled with guarantees and the second two years to be easily voidable.
The Bears will likely roll with Massie for those two seasons and then will have a decision to make. They could likely cut hm to save cap and move onto Coward. Or, they could keep him on his current contract if he were living up to it, or if Coward showed unready to take the step forward.
If the contract has guarantees on the backend it could put the Bears is a tough spot as Massie goes over the hill in terms of age. We will wait to see the guarantees before commenting more.