The only six pending Chicago Bears free agents worth re-signing

The Chicago Bears should re-sign James Daniels

I am actually shocked by how many people believe James Daniels had a bad year in 2021. He wasn’t elite by any means, but he was an above-average guard. The key here with Daniels is that he is also only 24 years old. Most linemen don’t hit their prime until their mid-to-late 20s.

Prior to going down with an injury in 2020, Daniels was playing at a Pro Bowl level. If we ignore the Pro Football Focus grades that show Daniels is above-average and close to Pro Bowl level every year, we can look at his raw stats instead.

In 2019, Daniels played 1,069 snaps. he allowed one sack and only had four penalties during that time. In 2020, the year Daniels sustained his pectoral injury and missed more than half the season, he played 305 snaps, committed one false start penalty, and didn’t allow any sacks. Last year was harder on him in the penalty area as he actually had six penalties. Two were holding calls and one was a false start. He also gave up three sacks.

Something we have to remember about last year though was the inconsistencies of playing next to Sam Mustipher who struggled all season and cannot be counted on as the starting center in 2022. I would be for bringing back James Daniels, but I’d want Ryan Poles to also move on from Cody Whitehair in the process. Daniels is just as good as an interior lineman and is five years younger. I’d expect Daniels to test the market, but if you can sign him for $8-$10 million per season I think they should do it.