NFL Free Agency Predictions: Chicago Bears will sign Mike McGlinchey
The Chicago Bears need help at nearly every position. The team doesn't have many starters worth counting on in 2023 -- especially on offense. Justin Fields, Teven Jenkins, Cole Kmet, Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney and maybe Braxton Jones are worthy of being starters in 2023. Plus, both receivers aren't true WR1s and the team needs to find a way to find one soon. Cody Whitehair is another worthy starter, but I'm hopeful that the team finds a way to replace him while saving cap space. One way the team can help the offense in 2023 is by signing Mike McGlinchey.
Mike McGlinchey was drafted in the first round in 2018 by the San Francisco 49ers. He was selected ninth overall. McGlinchey has started for the 49ers since being drafted. The 49ers exercised his fifth-year option and now he is coming off the final year of his rookie contract.
The Chicago Bears should be all-in on Mike McGlinchey in free agency
Luke Getsy is loosely affiliated with 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan. Getsy worked under the tutelage of Mark LaFleur in Green Bay. LaFleur has worked with Shanahan in Houston, Washington, and Atlanta. Both Shanahan and LaFleur ran an outside-zone running scheme and Getsy has also adopted that type of offense. You can see the creativity from Getsy too when you look at how he built plays off one another using the same personnel and formations.
Adding a player like Mike McGlinchey to the Chicago Bears roster would be an immediate upgrade and also give Ryan Poles more versatility in the 2023 NFL Draft. McGlinchey is very familiar with the system that Luke Getsy will be running here in Chicago. He also matches the athleticism and type of player Ryan Poles has shown interest in since taking over as the Bears' general manager. McGlinchey stands 6'8" and weighs 310 pounds. He is a fantastic run blocker within this system and s often able to move onto the second level, adding more space for his running backs to work within.
His pass blocking is not elite but he's still an upgrade over who the Chicago Bears have right now. Adding him to the roster in the offseason will give Ryan Poles more versatility to look to the defensive side of the ball in the draft. With the connection to the offensive system, the fact that he's an upgrade over the team's current right tackles, and who else is available in free agency, I'd predict the Chicago Bears target Mike McGlinchey in free agency. At only 28 years old, I'd expect he will earn between $14 and $16 million with a four or five-year contract.