As the 2021 NFL Draft approached, Chicago Bears fans knew that offensive tackle had to be a focus. However, fans’ perception of the offensive line compared to reality was a little off. Many screamed from the top of their lungs for Charles Leno to be released despite his contract being below value for most starting left tackles. The best part about Leno was his consistent availability. The problem with Leno was that he was not dominant and nothing better than average.
The Chicago Bears moved on and addressed the tackle position not once, but twice in the 2021 NFL Draft. Ryan Pace traded up for Teven Jenkins in the second round. Jenkins was the highest draft pick Pace ever used on an offensive tackle, normally waiting for the sixth or seventh rounds. The best part is that Jenkins was projected as a late first-round pick by many — including myself.
Pace doubled-down at the offensive tackle position again in the fifth round when he drafted Larry Borom. Borom is not likely to see a starting nod in his rookie year, but I do think he could be the right tackle of the future for the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears season is in jeopardy with offensive line woes
Both Jenkins and Borom have a bit of a mean streak to them when they put the pads on. They are the physical maulers this offensive line has not seen since the days of Kyle Long. The problem is, Teven Jenkins has been missing in action during training camp thus far. Just over a week into camp and Jenkins has missed every practice with back tightness. You might remember this issue with a former first-round offensive tackle — Chris Williams. Let us hope Jenkins does not see the same fate.
With Jenkins sidelined with back issues and Germain Ifedi also missing time due to a hip flexor injury, the defense has been living in the Bears backfield. Nearly every play it seems like Andy Dalton or Justin Fields would be sacked if in a real game. If the Chicago Bears and Ryan Pace truly want to win this season (is it possible Pace and Matt Nagy could be gone if they don’t?), then Pace better make a few moves to improve the offensive line — at least, if nothing else, the depth.
The Chicago Bears need to find a way to trade Nick Foles
Nick Foles came out spitting fire the other day during his press conference. He was also making little to no sense with some of the things he was saying. Was it confidence or arrogance? You can be the judge of that one.
.@NickFoles is at the 🎙.@Hyundai | #BearsCamp https://t.co/ErKtSqhyRw
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 2, 2021
Listening to Nick Foles talk, clearly, the Chicago Bears and Ryan Pace were attempting to move on from Foles this offseason. The problem is that Foles was not making things easy and once teams heard that he did not want to be traded, they moved on. Well, according to Foles, the timing was just not right — whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. Could it be that the timing is right for him to change teams now?
With Carson Wentz going down with a foot injury that will cause him to miss at least a few games this season, reuniting Nick Foles with his former coach Frank Reich sounds like a very solid plan. With the Chicago Bears being down to five draft picks next season, sending Foles to the Indianapolis Colts for a fifth or sixth-round draft pick seems ideal.
Acquiring another late-round pick is not the main reason Pace needs to make this move though. Sending Foles to another team allows the team to keep another positional player since the team will not likely keep a different third-string quarterback on the active roster. The other reason and the more obvious one, the team can save roughly $4 million dollars in salary cap space.
If the Chicago Bears can’t trade Nick Foles, Pace needs to find salary cap space
As most of you know, the Chicago Bears found themselves in a salary cap predicament this year. This is partly due to restructuring multiple contracts and moving cap hits to the backend of their deals. That caught up to Ryan Pace, but had the salary cap not taken a due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team would have probably been fine.
Instead, Kyle Fuller and Charles Leno were both salary cap casualties and the team is now weak at both positions. The additions of Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom were just as much moves for this season as they were for the future. Jenkins was brought in to be the starting left tackle, but as already mentioned, this has not been going well as Jenkins is dealing with back tightness and not able to practice.
With only $5 million dollars available to the team right now, there is not much that Ryan Pace can do in free agency to help solve the problem. Therefore, some moves need to happen and happen now. There are a few ways to find more cap space that Ryan Pace could make now.
Extending Bilal Nichols and adjusting the cap hit for this season is one way. Nichols is only 24 years old and in the final year of his contract. Extending him now could help in 2021. Ryan Pace could do the same with James Daniels. Combined, the two account for over $5 million against the cap this year. Creatively, the team could probably save at least $2 to $3 million with a contract extension.
Another option would be going to Akiem Hicks and/or Jimmy Graham to see if they would be interested in a one-year extension. These two combine for over $20 million against the cap. Cutting Graham could also be an option, but it does not seem like that is going to happen. The emergence of Jesse James in camp would make me feel comfortable enough to make this move and if your offensive line cannot block long enough, having Graham does little for the offense.
With a little extra room, the Chicago Bears must bring in a new left tackle
Whatever move(s) Ryan Pace decides to do in order to free up some room in the salary cap, the next move is to sign a veteran who can play left tackle this year. My very first choice and one I have mentioned over and over again is Russell Okung. Okung can come in and play left tackle this season, allowing Jenkins time to heal and acclimate to the NFL. If Jenkins proves healthy enough, then Matt Nagy can put him at right tackle. This position was where I envisioned him anyway.
Okung is not going to come cheap though. Plus he wants to be paid in cryptocurrency. If I am Ryan Pace though, Okung is easily the best decision to make. He was not as efficient last year, but he has a career 80.9 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade and still have plenty in the tank.
If Okung is not willing to come here, the other options include Mitchell Schwartz (if healthy), Jason Peters (although 39), Ricky Wagner or Demar Dotson. Schwartz Dotson and Wagner are all right tackles in my opinion, but any of the three would be better options than Elijah Wilkinson who has been getting manhandled in training camp. Jason Peters actually played well last year at the age of 38, could he do it again at nearly 40?
The point here is that this team needs help at offensive tackle more than inside linebacker. Let’s not worry about signing guys like Alec Ogletree when the offensive line is giving up a sack nearly every play of training camp.
If the Chicago Bears cannot sign a free agent OT, then they must trade for one
As I said, I’m not exactly sold on bringing in guys like Mitchell Schwartz, Demar Dotson or Ricky Wagner to play left tackle. Schwartz has played right tackle his entire career. Dotson and Wagner too for the most part. Therefore, if Okung does not become the go-to guy here (Why on earth is he still available is somewhat concerning though), then maybe the right move is to trade for someone.
Nate Solder was brought in to be the Giants starting left tackle for a few years, but after opting out in 2020 and struggling a bit in 2019, he is now rumored to be a backup. With Andrew Thomas slotted in as the most likely option to start at left tackle this year, Ryan Pace should be on the phone finding out if a sixth-round pick is enough to land the now overpaid backup? Hell, I’d even go as far as throwing in a fifth-rounder seeing that the left tackle position is that important.
Just as if the Chicago Bears were to bring in a free agent to play left tackle, trading for Nate Solder could allow Teven Jenkins time to heal and catch up to NFL speeds or play right tackle this season instead. If the Giants were to trade Solder, it would cost them $8 million dollars over two years (they are paying him $9.5 million to ride the bench). The problem here is it would only cost the Chicago Bears $3 million this year but nearly $14 million next year.
It is possible some type of financial deal could be worked out where the Giants absorb some of his $4 million roster bonus that is guaranteed. Plus, if Solder plays well enough in 2020 then paying your starting left tackle $14 million is not that bad of a deal. With Solder in place for two years, Jenkins could become the dominant right tackle I envisioned for hopefully over a decade if his back issues do not become a lingering problem.
Another trade possibility that should not cost much but could possibly help is Ty Sambrailo. Sambrailo is a backup in Tennessee and has floated around the NFL. The Chicago Bears looked at him back in 2015, but that was a different regime. Maybe the Panthers will give up Greg Little? Little is projected to be a backup once again despite being a second-round draft pick in 2019. The point here is that there are likely some backup tackles throughout the league worth trading for.
I know that “saving the season” might seem a little drastic at this point, but if a team cannot sustain blocks long enough for their quarterback to make decisions and throws, then the offense is going to struggle even with Patrick Mahomes under center. Did you see them lose the Super Bowl last year? Ryan Pace cannot allow this situation to go unresolved unless they truly are not concerned about Jenkins’ progress.
The last resort is seeing which players are cut from camps, but the chances of them being any better than Elijah Wilkinson are slim. Solder would be my target if a trade is the way Pace wants to go, but signing one of those free agent tackles would be the best option.