The Chicago Bears had one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season. And that’s not hyperbole.
They ranked near the bottom of most statistical categories and were embarrassingly bad at times in 2019. (Remember that time they had nine total yards of offense in one half of football against the Philadelphia Eagles?)
But when it comes to fixing the offense, unfortunately you can’t pinpoint one specific position that, if fixed, would flip a switch in the unit. Quarterback, tight end, offensive line, play caller. You name it, there was blame to go around.
Righting the ship on offense has been a focal point of this offseason for the Bears, which has included four new offensive coaches — offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone — that are experts at the positions that snake-bit the Bears offense in 2019.
General manager Ryan Pace has also been active in free agency, bringing in tight ends Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris, as well as trading for quarterback Nick Foles and signing former first-round guard Germain Ifedi. But there’s still plenty of work to be done on offense, especially heading into the late wave of free agency and the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.
Like many, Bleacher Report believes offensive line — specifically, guard –remains the Bears’ biggest need late in free agency. Following Kyle Long’s retirement, Chicago has a gaping hole at the right guard position.
This leaves guard as a major position of need, though it already has been one over the last couple of years—Long played just 12 games in that span. The Bears experimented with shifting Cody Whitehair from center to guard but moved him back after center James Daniels struggled to replace him.
This is arguably the only significant question mark on Chicago’s offense aside from the quarterback position. The Bears potentially addressed that, however, by trading for Nick Foles. While Foles won’t be handed the starting job, he’ll have a chance to snatch it away from incumbent Mitchell Trubisky.
There are no shortage of questions on Chicago’s offensive line, including both tackle spots, but the Bears are financially stuck with Charles Leno and Bobby Massie through 2020.
What the Bears don’t have, currently, is a starting right guard, although there are two players currently on the roster expected to compete for that starting spot in newly-acquired Ifedi and highly-touted undrafted free agent Alex Bars.
Chicago is also expected to address the offensive line in the 2020 NFL Draft. While the Bears don’t know who their starting quarterback is just yet between Mitchell Trubisky and Foles, it won’t matter if other issues, like offensive line, aren’t addressed.
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