Ryan Poles accomplished a huge part of his off-season objective in the span of 24 hours by trading for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney. Those two former Pro Bowlers lock down the Chicago Bears’ guard positions at least for 2025 and probably longer. In what is obviously a major rebuild up front, the GM did great work. However, it isn’t finished yet. Most agree that center is the next area they have to address. Coleman Shelton is a free agency and likely not a fit for what Ben Johnson wants to do.
There is one problem: The market for the position is not great. Only one name stands out as a viable option: Atlanta’s Drew Dalman. That means the Bears might have to overpay to land him. Otherwise, they’re settling for a 32-year-old Ryan Kelly or second-tier options. However, it appears a recent move elsewhere has given them a badly needed alternative. Reports came out of Las Vegas that they are releasing veteran center Andre James after six seasons with the team.
James would be a great backup plan for Ryan Poles.
A former undrafted free agent out of UCLA, he battled his way into the Raiders’ starting lineup by his third season. From there, he was quietly one of the more dependable centers in the league. He allowed an average of 19 pressures over four seasons with a decent run-blocking grade in the mid-60s. An ankle injury kept him out of some games last year, but he returned and showed no signs of decline. His release seems to be a decision by a new regime led by GM John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll.
James isn’t a premier athlete, but he’s a tough, rugged player with good power who knows what he’s doing. If Ryan Poles can’t reel in Dalman next week, he would make an adequate pivot move so they won’t have to go swinging for instant help in the draft. This is a fortunate development for the Bears. Now, we get to see how everything unfolds next Monday when the tampering period begins.
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