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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If any more breaks, then the Bears will get to 10-Deep once again. I shudder to think.
This might not be the best forum for this question, but how reliable are PFF grades? I see them being used a lot, but how reliable are they? Thanks in advance!
So, hear me out here, if the Raiders release James, doesn’t that mean that one more team is looking for a center, and one more center is looking for a team? It’s a zero sum change (unless James retires).
Bears need all the line help they can get. I sure hope they are checking out all possibilities.
I’m sure it’s not perfect, but I’ve been looking at the PFF grades of these players Eric keeps floating. From what I read Andre James doesn’t grade anywhere close to Coleman Shelton. Please help me and explain the big break Poles is receiving