Bears 2023 training camp preview: Offensive line

Our next Bears position preview is the offensive line, a group that will look very different than it did in 2022.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

We’re unveiling our Bears 2023 training camp position previews, where we’re breaking down every player by position and examining the biggest question facing the group.

Rounding out the offensive side of the ball is the offensive line, a group that only has one projected starter playing the same position they played in 2022. Braxton Jones is back at left tackle but the rest of the line has done more shuffling than the 1985 Bears.

Teven Jenkins and Cody Whitehair were both prominent starters in 2022 who are now playing new positions, while newcomers Nate Davis and Darnell Wright were added to anchor the right side of the line. Meanwhile, players like Lucas Patrick and Larry Borom are now backups after entering last year’s camp as starters.

Here’s a closer look at the Bears’ offensive line heading into training camp.

Roy Mbaeteka turns down Giants contract, returns to International Pathway Program

Nigerian OL Roy Mbaeteka has turned down a reserve/futures contract from the Giants and will return to the International Pathway Program.

The New York Giants have signed 12 players to reserve/futures contracts thus far but Nigerian offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka is not among them.

Mbaeteka, who came to the Giants by way of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, spent most of the 2022 season on the team’s practice squad. However, when presented with the option to sign a reserve/futures deal, Mbaeteka declined.

Following that decision, Mbaeteka will return to the IPP.

The 6-foot-9, 320-pound Mbaeteka was mentored by retired Giants great Osi Umenyiora in the NFL Africa initiative, which is part of the IPP.

“Once you see him, you know he’s physically imposing and in a year or two if you immerse him in football culture, he’s going to be fantastic,” Umenyiora told Giants.com at the time of Mbaeteka’s signing.

“The Giants took a chance. Not much of a chance, I think. When you see him working, you’re going to know what he’s about. . . He is big, strong, physical, extremely intelligent, very athletic. He’s built to play offensive tackle in the league. In fact, he reminds me quite a bit of Kareem McKenzie. He has the same temperament. He’s very smart, but he’s a very athletic player.”

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Giants sign Jaydon Mickens after working out three returners

The New York Giants have signed WR Jaydon Mickens after working out a trio of return men on Tuesday.

The New York Giants hosted a small group of return men for a tryout on Tuesday in East Rutherford, including former sixth-round pick Kenjon Barner.

The 33-yard-old Barner was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2013. Since then, he’s become quite the journeyman, making stops with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and, most recently, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Barner has also been a part of three Super Bowl teams — the Eagles, Patriots and Buccaneers.

In 76 career games, he’s rushed for 416 yards and three touchdowns, while hauling in 28 receptions for 152 yards. He’s also returned 91 punts for 677 yards and one touchdown, and 55 kickoffs for 1,291 yards.

In addition to Barner, the Giants also worked out wide receivers Jaydon Mickens and Chester Rogers. Both were undrafted free agents in 2016 who have made a living as reserves and return men.

Of the three, Jaydon Mickens was signed to the practice squad. In order to clear room for him, offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka had his contract terminated.

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Giants re-sign OT Roy Mbaeteka to practice squad

The New York Giants have re-signed offensive tackle Roy Mbaeteka to their practice squad.

Nigerian native Roy Mbaeteka’s NFL dream isn’t dead yet. The New York Giants are bringing the 6-foot-9, 320-pound tackle back to their practice squad.

Mbaeteka spent the first few weeks of this season on the Giants’ practice squad before he was released on September 29.

Mbaeteka came to Big Blue via the NFL International Player Pathway Program after being discovered by former Giants All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora at a football camp in Nigeria in 2021.

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Saints sign OL Wyatt Davis off Giants’ practice squad

The New Orleans Saints have signed OL Wyatt Davis off the New York Giants’ practice squad and to their active roster.

The New York Giants were forced to make some practice squad adjustments on Thursday after the New Orleans Saints signed guard Wyatt Davis to their active roster.

Davis, a third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2021NFL draft, was signed to the team’s reserve unit last week after being waived by the Vikes as a part of final cuts. It was anticipated that he would be moved to the active roster in Week 1.

With an open spot on their practice squad, the Giants re-signed offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka.

Mbaeteka had spent training camp and the preseason with New York after joining them by way of the NFL Africa initiative, which is part of the league’s International Player Pathway Program. He was first discovered by Giants great Osi Umenyiora.

“Once you see him, you know he’s physically imposing and in a year or two if you immerse him in football culture, he’s going to be fantastic,” Umenyiora told Giants.com in April.

“The Giants took a chance. Not much of a chance, I think. When you see him working, you’re going to know what he’s about. . . He is big, strong, physical, extremely intelligent, very athletic. He’s built to play offensive tackle in the league. In fact, he reminds me quite a bit of Kareem McKenzie. He has the same temperament. He’s very smart, but he’s a very athletic player.”

Mbaeteka remains somewhat raw but made good strides over the summer.

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Giants make 21 transactions; host eight tryouts and one visit

The New York Giants officially made 21 transactions on Thursday and hosted a total of nine players in East Rutherford — most on tryouts.

The New York Giants made a flurry of transactions on Thursday that impacted nearly every aspect of their team — active roster, practice squad and injured reserve.

The team also had a slew of free agents in for workouts and visits with at least one being signed, and potentially more to come.

Here’s a recap of Thursday’s moves.

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Giants having a glaring need at swing tackle

With Matt Gono likely being forced into retirement, the New York Giants have a glaring and concerning need at swing tackle.

The New York Giants appear set at starting offensive tackle with Andrew Thomas and rookie Evan Neal, but there are still notable issues behind them.

Veteran Matt Gono was signed this offseason to play swing tackle for the Giants, but a lingering neck injury is expected to end his career. That leaves the team with Devery Hamilton, Garrett McGhin and Roy Mbaeteka as their remaining reserves.

Hamilton went undrafted in 2021 and McGhin this past April, while Mbaeteka is an international import still very much new to NFL football.

These depth issues have been especially obvious in practice.

Shane Lemeiux, who has taken snaps at guard and center this summer, has expressed a willingness to play tackle if needed. Rookie Josh Ezeudu has also taken snaps as a swing, but the team likely prefers that he remain inside where he is their primary reserve.

Since camp opened, the Giants have held multiple tryouts including three offensive tackles on Thursday. However, the search continues as none have been signed.

This is an issue that general manager Joe Schoen will have no choice but to address, so expect more workouts and tryouts in the coming days, as well as a likely addition or two.

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2022 Giants training camp preview: Offensive line

The New York Giants’ offensive line looks significantly better on paper but there may still be some depth issues.

One of the key areas New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen wanted to address when he took the job this offseason was the offensive line.

The Giants’ offense has been pitiful the past few seasons and the line has taken the brunt of the blame from the critics. That may be about to change.

With a new head coach (Brian Daboll), new offensive coordinator (Mike Kafka) and a new offensive line coach in Bobby Johnson, the approach alone should change things for the better.

Here’s a quick rundown of how the line shapes up heading into training camp.

Giants suddenly have quality and volume along offensive line

The New York Giants entered the offseason in desperate need of offensive linemen and now have both quality and depth.

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New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen knew coming in the door this past winter that he had a lot of work ahead of him when it came to the offensive line.

Several months and nearly a dozen personnel moves later, Schoen has addressed the Giants’ most glaring issue with both quantity and quality. The team now has loads of options along the offensive line and it should be markedly improved in 2022.

The process began with just one spot on the line chiseled in stone — left tackle — where former first round pick Andrew Thomas has developed into an asset. The other four spots were wide open after the team shed themselves of some underachieving players, while others remain on the outside looking in as they rehab from injuries.

The Giants’ depth chart was scant: Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates, Matt Peart, Ben Bredeson, Wes Martin, Korey Cunningham and Devery Hamilton.

Lemieux, Gates and Peart are all still in the throes of coming back from serious injuries. The others were brought in as replacements on the fly.

Schoen went out shopping in the low rent district and managed to pull in veteran free agents Mark Glowinski, Max Garcia, Jamil Douglas, Matt Gono and Jon Feliciano. Then, he signed the massive Roy Mbaeteka out of the NFL’s international program.

Right there he could have stopped. They could make a serviceable line out of those players but Schoen still had the draft head of him.

In the draft, Schoen got an early Christmas present when Alabama tackle Evan Neal fell into his lap at No. 7 overall on Thursday night. Neal will start Day 1 at right tackle and gives the Giants an enviable pair of bookends along with Thomas.

Later in the draft, Schoen added two North Carolina linemen in Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan. Ezeudu is noted for his versatility at both guard and tackle and McKethan is a 6-foot-7, 340-pound guard who just overwhelms defenders with his size and strength.

Now comes the hard part. Getting a starting five out of all of this volume. We know Thomas and Neal will be the tackles but who will be the other seven (or eight) who will fill out the roster.

“We’ll see once we get pads on and things like that,” head coach Brian Daboll said after the draft. “I know the guys are hard working. They are smart. They show some toughness when you watch them on tape. The people that we’ve had in the building are dependable. It’s been good to go into meetings with (offensive line coaches) Bobby (Johnson) and Tony (Sparano) and those guys. They are eager.

“Again, let’s not make it more than it is. Your job is to protect the inside part of the pocket and the width of the pocket and get moving in the running game, but that position you need five guys operating as one unit. And that is what will be really important.

“You’ll see. I know I will get a lot of questions on it once we get out in OTAs, and I’ll tell you right now, there are going to be a lot of guys mixing and matching. You can write the lineup down each day, but it’s going to change from day to day.”

With Gates’ future still uncertain, the Giants will use Feliciano at center. Glowinski was inked to a three-year deal so we expect him to be one of the starting guards. The other guard position is wide open. You can expect Lemieux, if healthy, to get a shot as well as Garcia and Douglas. You can add Ezeudu to that mix as well.

It is a refreshing change for the Giants now that their weakest unit has been turned into a major strength.

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Roy Mbaeteka impressed Giants with his football IQ

Nigerian OL Roy Mbaeteka impressed the New York Giants with his understanding of schemes and blocking assignments.

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Earlier this offseason, the New York Giants made news when they signed 6-foot-9, 320 pound offensive line prospect Roy Mbaeteka, a product of the NFL’s International Pathway program out of Nigeria.

Mbaeteka was discovered and mentored by Giants Ring of Honoree Osi Umneyiora, another player with African roots.

“Roy was telling me that up until the point his feet touched the ground in America, he still didn’t believe this was going to happen,” Umenyiora, 40, who lived in Nigeria from ages 7-to-14, told the New York Daily News. “They’ve dealt with so much disappointment over the course of their lives. They’re thinking something’s gonna happen to the plane. It’s a crazy experience.”

Mbaeteka is a project in every sense of the word and is a long-shot to see the field anytime soon but is developing quickly. This winter, he trained at the esteemed AMDG Sports Performance Facility in Chandler, Arizona run by former NFL star lineman LeCharles Bentley. Mbaeteka came in with limited knowledge and experience.

“He did not know what shotgun formation was when he first got here,” Bentley said.

But since then, Mbaeteka has been making strides in his crash courses to learn the game. He impressed the Giants enough during his April 7 meeting for them to sign him.

“The Giants took him to the board, asked him to draw up what he knew, and he knew the schemes,” Umenyiora said. “He knew who he was supposed to block, all the information.”

Mbaeteka is just the latest international player to get signed by an NFL team. Charles lauded the Giants for “turning over all the rocks to see what’s out there” and the NFL for “expanding the footprint of what’s possible discovering talent around the globe.”

Mbaeteka will likely spend this season on the Giants’ practice squad as he’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s coming along fast. With the Giants rebuilding their offensive line, all options are on the table. Mbaeteka could be one of those diamonds in the rough that teams get lucky with on occasion.

“The playbook, Roy is gonna kill that, because Roy can learn fast, he can learn quick. Just show him, he’s gonna do it,” said former Cleveland Cavaliers draft pick Ejike Ugboaja, who also hails from Nigeria.

The Giants are hopeful he will.

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