Chicago Bears: 5 Players who exceeded expectations
By Joseph Herff
Sam Mustipher, Center
Sam Mustipher deserves some recognition for what he did this season. He only came in when there were multiple injuries to the offensive line such as Cody Whitehair, Bobby Massie, and James Daniels. He played extremely well for a first-time NFL center, and then got benched again in favor of Rashaad Coward.
He didn’t lose hope though as finally someone got through to Nagy as the Bears eventually restructured their offensive line moving Whitehair from center to guard and moving Mustipher back to starting center. Once he got the job, he never gave it up. In turn, the Bears may have found a capable center for the future.
Mustipher wasn’t by any means a star, but he never gave up on plays, always came to his players’ defense, and commanded the offensive line like a seasoned-veteran. It is obvious he needs more experience in order to be a long-term center, but that is possible that he could be that guy.
Overall, the undrafted free agent showed a lot of heart and hard work to get that job. Now he even said himself he wants to work even harder next offseason because he still isn’t satisfied. An interior with Whitehair, Mustipher, and Daniels next season will be very tough.