The Chicago Bears traded for offensive lineman Dan Feeney in a move that speaks to how desperate the team is on the offensive line. Cody Whitehair appears to be having trouble snapping, Lucas Patrick is struggling to stay healthy, and Doug Kramer is heading to the IR, as is Teven Jenkins.
You can certainly understand why the team made the move, and he may even be starting week one. So, what should fans know about him at this point?
3. Dan Feeney brings versatility the Chicago Bears need
Dan Feeney was once a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2017 NFL draft. He has 4,160 snaps on offense in his NFL career. He has 64 career starts but 48 of them were from 2018 through 2020. In the past two years, he has just seven starts.
However, over that time, it has been able to show versatility. He played primarily left guard with the Chargers but shifted to center in 2020 when the team needed him. In 2021, he played a little center and left guard, but in 2022, he played 103 snaps at right guard, the most in his career.
Overall, he has 2,596 snaps at left guard, 1,412 snaps at center, and 125 snaps at right guard. He has 185 right guard snaps in the preseason, including 44 snaps at right guard this summer. So, if they needed him to step in for Teven Jenkins, he certainly could. However, he also has 286 snaps at center and 52 snaps in the past two preseasons at center.
He has mostly been a center since the 2020 season when he got his chance, and he has stuck in the role. With Whitehair, Patrick and Kramer all having issues at center you can imagine that they traded him to fill this hole, although the missed practice of Nate Davis and IR stint for Teven Jenkins tells us he could be used anywhere.