Tag: Cody Whitehair

Bears restructure Cody Whitehair’s contract

Bears GM Ryan Pace is getting creative in freeing up salary cap space, starting with center Cody Whitehair’s contract.

Despite not having a whole lot of salary cap space, the Bears have made some big moves in free agency and through the trade market.

Chicago has bolstered its defense with All-Pro pass rusher Robert Quinn and added some pieces to its offense with the additions of tight end Jimmy Graham and quarterback Nick Foles.

Now, general manager Ryan Pace has to get creative in freeing up salary cap space. And that’s starting with restructuring center Cody Whitehair’s contract, according to Field Yates.

According to Over The Cap, Whitehair’s base salary in 2020 is $5.1 million, which means that with a restructure the most they could save would be $3.352 million.

Considering the Bears are still anticipated to make some moves in free agency, including on the offensive line, don’t expect the restructuring of Whitehair’s contract to be the last move Pace makes to free up cap space.

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5 causes for concern for Bears in 2020

The Bears are expected to make plenty of moves this offseason. But there are reasons to be cautious about the Bears heading into 2020.

Things can certainly change in a year. At this time last season, the Bears’ only real concern was replacing beleaguered kicker Cody Parkey. They had a young core in place that was coming off a strong 12-4 season, and there were high expectations for their offense to take the next step and their defense to continue dominating.

Fast forward, and the Bears have several needs that far outweigh their kicker, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

The offseason has just begun, and the Bears are expected to make plenty of moves. But if the season were to start today, here are five reasons to be cautious about the Bears in 2020.

1. Mitchell Trubisky’s regression

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

The one glaring issue that serves to potentially hold the Bears back from championship contention is quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky was expected to take the next step in his development last season, but he only served to be arguably the most disappointing aspect of Chicago’s offense.

While the Bears remain publicly committed to Trubisky as their starter for 2020, that’s not set in stone in February. The Bears will likely bring in veteran competition/insurance for Trubisky. But given Ryan Pace’s job figures to be tied to the quarterback he traded up to get and took over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, you figure the Bears will give him one last chance in 2020.

The Good News? Trubisky can’t get much worse in 2020, right? Especially with new offensive coaches in Bill Lazor and John DeFilippo.

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5 takeaways from Bears’ 19-14 win over Giants

Here are five takeaways we learned from the Bears’ 19-14 victory over the Giants, including the return of Khalil Mack.

The Chicago Bears (5-6) followed up a disappointing loss with a 19-14 win over the struggling New York Giants (2-9), although it certainly was anything but pretty.

While the Bears were plagued by the same self-inflicted mistakes and missed opportunities that cost them last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, this time they were struggling against a stumbling Giants team that had issues of their own.

The Bears defense has held opponents to 17 points or less in four of the last five games, and this time their offense was able to take advantage despite the sheer amount of missed opportunities left out on the field. But a win is a win, even if it’s an ugly one against a Giants team going nowhere.

Here are my five takeaways from the Bears’ 19-14 win over the Giants.

1. Mitchell Trubisky shines in hurry-up offense

Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

While Mitchell Trubisky certainly didn’t have a great game, he stacked another solid performance, even if the statistics don’t necessarily indicate it. Trubisky certainly had some ugly moments — including two interceptions — but it was during the Bears’ hurry-up offense where the young quarterback stood apart from his struggles.

Trubisky is at his best when he’s in up-tempo situations where he doesn’t have to think and just plays football, and he certainly shined in those moments where the Bears ran their no-huddle offense.

While Trubisky’s statline isn’t anything to marvel at — 25-of-41 for 278 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, as well as one rushing touchdown — it was definitely another step in a positive direction for Trubisky in a struggling offense.

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Harry Hiestand clarifies why Bears switched Cody Whitehair and James Daniels

The Bears decided to switch Cody Whitehair back to center and James Daniels back to left guard to provide balance on the offensive line.

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Following Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy didn’t provide any clarification as to why they decided to switch Cody Whitehair back to center and push James Daniels back to left guard.

But when offensive line coach Harry Hiestand met with the media Monday, he provided as much context as we’re likely to get publicly.

While Nagy nor Hiestand would blame Daniels for the offensive line’s struggles this season, they did point to his inexperience as a reason why they made the switch. Although you have to wonder what took so long to make the decision with the line struggling as long as it has been all season.

Hiestand said having Whitehair at center “balances us out and gives us a steadying factor in there.”

While communication calls seemed to be more effective with Whitehair at center, he wasn’t without his faults. He struggled with snapping the football, something he hadn’t done since the Pro Bowl back in January. Mitchell Trubisky saved some of those poor snaps, but Whitehair vowed that it’ll get better as he gets back into the swing of things.

As for whether Daniels could eventually wind up back at center, it sounds like the Bears are comfortable with him at left guard for now.

“Right now he’s where [he] is best for us,” Hiestand said. “But you never know with that.”

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New Bears center Cody Whitehair promises to ‘get better as we go’

As the Bears switched Cody Whitehair back to center against the Lions, he had some ups and downs in his return to center.

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The Chicago Bears made some adjustments on offense prior to Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Whether that was benching tight end Adam Shaheen or a switch on the offensive line, Matt Nagy was determined to shake things up.

After switching Cody Whitehair to left guard and James Daniels to center during the offseason, the team decided to switch them back after Daniels struggled at his new position over the first eight games this season.

When Whitehair snapped for the first time Sunday against the Lions, it was his first snap to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky since the pair played in the Pro Bowl back in January.

Whitehair struggled with his snaps, including one that could’ve been a disaster as a fumble that Trubisky managed to turn into a 3-yard gain. There were a few others that were high or wide that Trubisky had to adjust to.

“It went OK for me, but I wish I could have a couple [plays] back …” Whitehair said, via the Sun-Times. “It’ll get better as we go.”

Neither Whitehair or Daniels had played their former positions prior to switching during practice last week.

“It’s not easy switching positions within seven days,” Daniels said, “but [offensive line] coach Harry [Hiestand] believed in me.”

The switch comes after some struggles on the offensive line, where Nagy wouldn’t blame Daniels, just like he wouldn’t focus on Whitehair’s snapping issues.

“I think sometimes when, whatever sport it is — if it’s golf and a golfer has the yips or you get into people, pitchers or whatever — the less you talk about it, the better it gets,” he said.

We’ll see if that’s the case when the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football, where defensive star Aaron Donald awaits.

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