The Chicago Bears have some fans worried about their lack of inactivity in free agency. Nobody wants to be the team that goes out and spends all of their caps on day one, but the team has a large cluster of holes to fill. So far, they only spent on a defensive lineman, and the offense is the area where they need to invest resources.
The Chicago Bears missed out on the early run of free-agent centers, although there probably was not much that they could do about it. Ryan Jensen, Brian Allen, and Ben Jones all went back to their initial teams, and the Bears would have had to overpay to get any to leave home.
While the center free-agent board is starting to dry up, a new name has emerged that could change the Bears’ fortunes. J.C. Tretter was recently released by the Cleveland Browns.
Arguably the best thing going for Tretter is that he has not missed a start since 2016. He is reliable as they come, and that can at least offset the idea that at age 30, his best days may have been in the past.
Still, you see linemen play well into their 30s, and both Jones and Jensen are older than Tretter. They also will be getting paid more than Tretter. Having an experienced center goes a long way for a young quarterback like Justin Fields. The added reliability, combined with the reality that the Chicago Bears need help at center in the worst way makes this a fit that the team has to explore hard.
One last benefit to Tretter is that as a released player, the team would not be losing compensatory pick value, something that they did give up when they signed Larry Ogunjobi.
Tretter is affordable, he helps their compensatory formula, and more than anything fills a huge need for a position that is valuable to the growth of their franchise quarterback. J.C. Tretter should be linked to the Chicago Bears.