One area of the roster that the Chicago Bears have paid lots of attention to in the past couple of months is their offensive line. This is never a bad thing. Especially as they prepare to usher in the era of a new quarterback in Justin Fields. Fortifying his protection is of the utmost priority. They did that in the draft by selecting Teven Jenkins in the 2nd round and then Larry Borom in the 5th.
It appears the Bears might not be done. Concerns arose regarding their depth after the release of Charles Leno Jr. Now the team is potentially zeroing in on a solution. Word via Adam Schefter is they’re visiting with veteran right tackle Morgan Moses. Were this to happen, it would be quite an underrated score for the offense. While never viewed as the star of the Washington offensive line over the past several years, Moses was quietly one of the better right tackles in the NFL. A punishing run blocker who could hold his own in pass protection.
Former WFT OT Morgan Moses is scheduled to visit the Bears on Wednesday, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 1, 2021
Last season was no exception.
Moses earned a strong 80.6 grade from Pro Football Focus and was considered the sixth-best right tackle in the league. The only reason Washington cut him in the first place was salary cap problems. He just turned 30-years old. So he isn’t quite over the hill. While the Bears did bring back Germaine Ifedi this offseason, the fact is Moses would be a clear upgrade over him on that right side.
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Together with Jenkins on the left, the Bears’ offensive line would be much stronger from a talent perspective than it was a season ago. This could prove particularly true in the ground game. Never a bad thing when a team might be trying to break in a rookie quarterback. Chicago did load up their stable of running backs, don’t forget. Damien Williams and 6th round pick Khalil Herbert joined the mix with David Montgomery and a returning Tarik Cohen.
Getting Moses to help block for them would be a major score.
Morgan Moses is coming off a career high 80.6 graded season (85.9 RBLK, 70.8 PBLK)
🚜 Ranked as the 6th-highest graded RT pic.twitter.com/HEqNrRwtRu
— PFF Commanders (@PFF_Washington) May 18, 2021
Hope everyone saw how critical Morgan Moses was on the 4th-and-1 run. Not sure Barber gets there, and not sure this team is 1-0, without him pic.twitter.com/11KXyipNzB
— Pete Hailey (@PeteHaileyNBCS) September 15, 2020
GODDAMN MORGAN MOSES pic.twitter.com/SAPblqhXFY
— Jordan (@wshingtontoday) September 14, 2020
Chicago Bears may finally understand their priorities
One of the problems that surfaced in the past few years was how poorly the Bears had mismanaged their offensive line. Though they had drafted Mitch Trubisky 2nd overall, their investments up front were on the cheaper side. The only significant addition they made following his arrival was James Daniels in the 2nd round in 2018. While he was a strong pick, it wasn’t enough to hide the overall flaws in the group.
It appears GM Ryan Pace and the rest of the Chicago Bears brass have learned from their mistakes. This time around has been quite different. Two of their three highest picks in the NFL draft were offensive linemen. Now they’re pursuing one of the top free agents available. One who probably would’ve been long gone had he been released back in early March. Pace is always known for being opportunistic this time of year.
Can Chicago close out a deal?
That depends on how much money Moses is looking for. The Bears are about to get a nice chunk of cap space in $9 million following Leno’s release. That should allow them to make a decent offer. However, if the veteran is seeking a healthy payday? That would create problems. Then again the team could look to offer him a multi-year deal. One that would allow them to keep his 2021 cap hit low. It will be interesting to see how they approach this.