5 free agents still available Chicago Bears must consider

2. Should Chicago Bears sign center Matt Paradis

Matt Paradis was not the top option at center for the Chicago Bears, but at this point, he may be their best option. The big issue for Paradis is that he is 32 years old, and tore his ACL last season. Paradis could be back by the start of the 2022 season, but the combination of age and injury has to sour the market on him.

Still, we saw first hand that the Chicago Bears passed on the big-name centers. That means that the team will have to look to the bargain bin now. The bargain bin is where you have to understand what a player is. Age and injuries are why you are signing someone so cheap.

What Paradis does is provide a bridge. He gives the team a chance to draft a lineman in the middle rounds and not throw him into the fire. It gives them one year to slow play things and assess the center landscape as a whole.

If Paradis can start week one then the team likely just got a deal because others were unsure of his status. The injury will affect him, but they have to have someone capable of starting at center.