Matt Eberflus promised in the spring that the Chicago Bears would keep an open mind regarding the offensive line. Nothing was set in stone as far as who would or would not start. Plans were to experiment until they found the best five blockers possible. The team is now four practices into training camp. Pads haven’t come on yet, so one would think the coaches haven’t gotten the answers they seek yet.
As is often the case, unexpected twists happen. Before camp began, only two spots were considered locked in, with Cody Whitehair at left guard and Lucas Patrick at center. Right guard is still a mystery, but the arrival of veteran Michael Schofield likely provides an answer. The bigger concern for most was the tackle positions. Minicamps and OTAs offered zero clarity on who would play the left and right sides. That appears to have changed based on what fans and beat writers see. Two clear favorites have emerged to hold those jobs when the dust settles a month from now.
Veteran newcomers Riley Reiff (left tackle) and Michael Schofield (right guard) are getting more of a workload in team drills after being eased in by the Bears. With Lucas Patrick out, Sam Mustipher and Doug Kramer are rotating at center.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) July 30, 2022
Teven Jenkins missed practice for the 3rd consecutive day. For the first time, Riley Reiff (LT) & Michael Schofield (RG) worked in with the 1’s in team drills. Sam Mustipher now manning snaps at center with Lucas Patrick (right hand) out.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) July 30, 2022
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Chicago Bears can’t afford to wait forever.
Teven Jenkins was supposed to be one of the bookend tackles of the future when the team drafted him last year. They even moved up to get him in the 2nd round. He missed most of 2021 with a back injury. Keep in mind he missed all of training camp last year. Now he’s missed the first four practices of his second. The best ability is availability. Jenkins is becoming another example of how draft status can’t protect you if you’re not on the field.
Larry Borom started most of last season at right tackle anyway. So he already has an experience advantage. Now he’s proving to be more reliable from a health perspective too. Unless that changes in the next few weeks, he is the easy favorite to man that spot on opening day. As for left tackle, the Bears really like Braxton Jones. That much is obvious. However, he’s still a rookie. Having him guard the blindside of Justin Fields was never practical.
That is why Riley Reiff was signed.
He has extensive, proven experience at that spot. He’ll give them serviceable play for this year and allow Jones time to develop. That gives Fields two experienced options on the edge. It isn’t ideal, but there are far worse possibilities.
