4 Chicago Bears we should see less after bye week

2. Chicago Bears should bench Riley Reiff

When the Chicago Bears signed Riley Reiff, they gave him playing time incentives. He hit those already, so this will not impact his contract in any way and take away any goodwill from the team. With that in mind, it should be obvious that the team needs to bench Reiff and bring in Alex Leatherwood.

This has nothing to do with Riley Reiff, and he has been fine. However, his age and contract situation present no upside heading into the offseason and next season. On the flip side, Alex Leatherwood is a former first-round pick in his second NFL season.

The odds are more likely than not that Leatherwood will not amount to much. However, at the same time, the odds are so much higher than Leatherwood will be on the roster this offseason, while Reiff will not. If there is one player that they can see start for five weeks, then find direct areas to work on this offseason it is Leatherwood.

Getting him out there, letting him see where he got better and worse compared to last year, and tracking the growth has so much more value than anything Reiff brings. It is not a knock on Reiff, but this week the coaches need to bring him in, thank him for his job well done, and now ask him to be a great mentor to the younger Alex Leatherwood.