Chicago Bears: The panic about protecting Justin Fields is insane
The Chicago Bears and Ryan Poles have been letting some down recently. Even many popular podcasters like Robert Schmidt are starting to lose a bit of faith. It is funny how most Chicago Bears fans didn’t know who Ryan Bates is, and now that the Buffalo Bills matched the offer from Chicago, fans seem to think that Justin Fields is doomed. If Justin Fields is doomed based on a player many hardly knew, something is wrong.
Hard to get too upset over the #Bills retaining an RFA, but wow a young, cheap-ish OL under a 4 year contract would’ve been a great move.
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) March 28, 2022
Instead, the #Bears’ OL is currently:
- Jenkins
- Whitehair
- Patrick
- Hole
- Hole?
Poles had better get moving.
The Chicago Bears offered what sounds like a very affordable deal for Ryan Bates. One that wouldn’t guarantee that Bates is the long-term starter. Why are we so sure that Jenkins is the starting left tackle? Is he even playing tackle?
Lucas Patrick shared that he is the center without even taking a snap. Some podcasters forgot that the Chicago Bears retained Sam Mustipher. Ryan Poles is going to bring in as many offensive linemen that he feels can play and make the battle it out at camp. Given the contracts that he has offered, there aren’t any guarantees about who will be playing where.
Here is a Twitter conversation I found between two Bears fans:
So basically we’re going to be fielding rookies protecting our franchise QB. Hope he’s ready to run for his life again….
— Reggie Dunlop (@puttinonfoil) March 28, 2022
Reggie, this has been done more times in the NFL than one can remember. Drafting and starting a young offensive line over their first two years is not bad. The NFL will always be about acquiring the correct players in the draft. I love that more Chicago Bears fans are getting into the offseason.
The free agency needs to be considered a place for second chances, while the draft is how you build the roster. Early free agents are free agents for a reason; why are their teams not resigning them? That will never change. Before I bring up the Kansas City Chiefs, who had Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey, and Lucas Niang start on that offensive line ( HAHA), I plan to give you some history on teams that have done this in the past that you might not remember.