The Chicago Bears offensive line has it rough this year. They were already coming off a bad season in 2019. One in which they gave up 45 sacks. It was hoped a new line coach and some fresh blood in Germain Ifedi might get things back on track. Instead the group has suddenly been swarmed by injuries. The latest coming to right tackle Bobby Massie.
It started with James Daniels a few weeks ago against Tampa Bay where he tore his pectoral. Then Cody Whitehair went down in Los Angeles with a calf strain. Now Massie joins the “fun” after being rolled up during the game against New Orleans that saw him leave and not return with what looked like a lower body injury.
Later it was revealed to be a knee.
While Massie hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his blocking of late, his loss was still felt as backup Jason Spriggs struggled in his place. It was hoped that the injury wasn’t too severe and the veteran might be able to return sooner than later. Yet as everybody knows, the Bears just haven’t had that kind of luck in 2020.
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Massie is expected to miss up to a month of action with that knee injury. This means he’ll be out until December. During that time the Bears play Tennessee, Minnesota, and Green Bay. A tough stretch featuring some pretty good edge rushers. Not ideal for what is already a beleaguered offensive line.
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“The Chicago Bears are hopeful center Cody Whitehair will return from a calf injury soon, but now the club is bracing to be without right tackle Bobby Massie for a significant period of time…
…Massie’s left knee buckled on the fourth offensive play in Week 8 when right guard German Ifedi and a pile of players fell on the back of his left leg at the end of a short run by David Montgomery. Massie could be sidelined a month, according to a league source.”
Holy shit how can Bobby Massie be this terrible. Just watches floyd go right by him 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/qUzSOcqGce
— Vick (@cinemaandsports) October 27, 2020
With Bobby Massie out, what do the Bears do now?
Initial expectations are that Spriggs will start in his place. The Bears pursued him in free agency for just that purpose. GM Ryan Pace was rumored to be a big fan of the former Indiana product back in 2016 before the Green Bay Packers jumped up the board to grab him. He never amounted to much up north. Perhaps he can do more with this opportunity in Chicago.
Barring that, the Bears would probably be wise to add some sort of veteran help via free agency. There are a few names floating around that might be worth a look. Topping the list is Cordy Glenn. Formerly of the Bills and Bengals. He was a solid left tackle at times for both teams. Other names to watch for include Donald Penn, LaAdrian Waddle, and Marshall Newhouse.
All have starting experience at prior stops. Just don’t expect any move the Bears make to be a permanent fix. These are all emergency options meant to hopefully stop the bleeding until Massie returns. Even after that, this team has some serious questions to answer about the future of their offensive line going into 2021.
Odds are there will be some new faces at the line of scrimmage by this time next year.