Most people will wonder why the Chicago Bears brass would consider having some of their current players switch positions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? Here’s the thing though. For all the good things the team did in 2018 from winning the division to hosting a playoff game, they still didn’t achieve their goal. They didn’t win the Super Bowl. That team wasn’t good enough to do it.
So they must operate with the singular question in mind this offseason. What can we do to get better? Most would assume it’s trying to add more talent to the roster. That is always the goal, but sometimes a team doesn’t have the resources to pull that off. Another possibility then is the somewhat unorthodox method of maybe switching players they already have to positions they might be more effective.
Head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace touched on this subject in-depth during their respective meetings with the Bears media down in Arizona. It was Nagy who started the ruckus in unexpected fashion when he said the coaching staff was considering a slight tweak to the offensive line.
Matt Nagy says there is a possibility Cody Whitehair and James Daniels could switch positions.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) March 26, 2019
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Chicago Bears may feel James Daniels is at his best at center
It’s difficult to surmise exactly why the Bears would make such a move. Whitehair went to his first Pro Bowl as a center last season. He didn’t allow a sack and graded out as a better run blocker than Daniels. Could it be Nagy still doesn’t trust Whitehair with snapping the ball? It was a well-documented problem going into 2018.
He ended up changing his snapping style to help give him more control of the ball. It seemed to help as the frequency of low or high balls diminished, but he still had his occasional wounded duck. Perhaps the Bears feel Daniels would be more consistent. Or maybe they just drafted him with a move to center in mind whenever he was ready.
That wasn’t the only interesting roster topic that popped up. Pace later made one regarding the Bears’ noted depth issue at edge rusher. While most would expect the team to add more via free agency or the draft, he sees a possible in-house move that could also help.
“It’s on us to develop our younger players. And we have to do that to get better. Especially with pass rusher, we’re looking to add more and more. But if you look at our D-line depth, that can add to some of that too. A guy like Roy Robertson-Harris, there are a lot of creative things we can do with him too. So it’s not just the outside linebackers. The pass rush and front in general, we feel pretty good about.”
Roy Robertson-Harris with a sack to put this game on ice as the #Bears win big in Buffalo. @BigXander95 pic.twitter.com/xZrLokbvgL
— Jake Perper (@BearsBacker) November 4, 2018
Why would the Bears consider moving Robertson-Harris?
This actually makes a little more sense. People sometimes forget that Robertson-Harris was originally slated to be an outside linebacker when he signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Eventually, they decided to have him add weight and become a defensive end instead. This didn’t stop him from being a notable pass rush presence with three sacks and 28 pressures last season.
Most would’ve pegged him as the likely starter opposite Akiem Hicks. However, the rise of young Bilal Nichols last season may have convinced the Bears they need to get him on the field more often. Shifting Robertson-Harris to a sort of hybrid backup role at defensive end and outside linebacker would give the defense more flexibility and allow him to do what he does best.
