Chicago Bears: Previewing the right guard competition

Germain Ifedi – Chicago Bears New Free Agent

After the struggles in 2019, the Bears went out and signed former first-round pick Germain Ifedi to a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Castillo was very high on Ifedi and Ifedi took a major pay cut to come to learn from the veteran offensive line coach. He had his struggles in Seattle, but feels he can take the next step in Chicago with Castillo.

The general consensus surrounding Ifedi is that he isn’t good. The issue with that is we haven’t really seen him at offensive guard. The Seahawks played Ifedi at offensive guard his rookie season early on before moving to right tackle due to injuries. He struggled there accumulating 39 penalties in three seasons leading the Seahawks to let him walk in free agency.

The Bears see him differently. The Bears see his tape as a right guard and are optimistic about it. They have every right to be. Ifedi appears to be a brute at right guard powering through people especially in the run game. He would have an immediate impact on improving the run game in Chicago if he were to play even at his rookie season level. Castillo may be able to get him going and get him even better than what we saw his rookie season.

Sure, Ifedi didn’t live up to the expectations of being a first-round pick, but the Bears got a guy they aren’t tied to who started 65 games in four seasons on the offensive line for a great team. If he fails, no big deal, the Bears don’t need to bring him back. If he succeeds, he gets a nice extension, or the Bears let him walk and get the compensation pick similar to what the Washington Redskins did with Ereck Flowers who also went from tackle to guard.