Are Bears Thinking of Loading Up the Line?

What impact it would have on the Bears at quarterback isn't yet known because no one can tell the plan at this position.

Still, Bears reported interest in Trent Williams is encouraging if you like physical football and it could tip off who the Bears will have playing quarterback.

The offensive line apparently isn't being ignored by the Bears on Tampering Day 1 as two reports suggest general manager Ryan Pace has been looking at a left tackle in free agency who would be quite an upgrade over left tackle Charles Leno Jr.

The 49ers left tackle was linked to interest from the Bears by Brad Biggs of the Tribune and later NFL Network. The former Washington Redskins tackle left that team in a trade which he forced by holding out in frustration over a medical condition. He remains a physical, dominant presence.

Williams had a cancerous growth on his head that he wanted removed but the team's medical officials seemed to treat him with skepticism about it. Upset over their cavalier attitude towards his health, Williams sat out most of 2019, then went on injured reserve and refused to return to the team. He forced a trade to San Francisco.

Williams, who will turn 33 this season, played almost a full 49ers season but went on IR the final week with an elbow injury.

Where the Bears would get this money from to pay a player like Williams is anyone's guess. He is a 6-foot-5, 320-pounder who made seven straight Pro Bowls and then was named to the team for the eighth time in 2020 with San Francisco.

Since Chiefs ppl are sharing Trent Williams videos... here’s his best block of 2020. It might be the best block of the season. pic.twitter.com/FSH2ypTQ3H
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) March 15, 2021

Williams had a cap cost of $12.7 million last season and the Bears on Monday came in on Spotrac.com with about $89,000 of cap space. This will change, however, when the free agency period begins. Williams' pay will also change soon. Spotrac.com gives him a market value of $18.2 million average annual salary.

Possibilities for paying to have a player of this quality include signing a cheaper quarterback to pair with Nick Foles. That would save some money.

If they cut Leno, they could get back a portion of the money it would take to sign Williams. They would save $6.2 million by cutting Leno, who has graded out on Pro Football Focus' system as an above-average tackle over the course of his career.

They could save money on a few other contracts with restructures or new deals, or save $8.8 million by cutting Akiem Hicks. A new contract for Allen Robinson would allow them to go with a smaller salary this year than the $17.9 million he has coming under the franchise tag, then prorate the rest of the money as bonus to make for a lower cap hit in 2021. They could also trade Robinson and get his money off the books.

What About QB?

What they do at quarterback in relation to a move for Williams is the real intriguing part.

One line of thinking is they're going after Russell Wilson harder now because they can prove they're serious about protecting him with a Pro Bowl tackle.

However, they also could be thinking they can't get Wilson because Seattle doesn't want to trade him, so they're going for the best possible pass protection to keep a veteran like Nick Foles or another veteran from getting beaten up too much by the pass rush.

Either way, Williams would be a huge asset to David Montgomery and the running game. So, that would help whoever the quarterback is, Wilson or otherwise.

First play of the game Trent Williams pulls, leads, and crushes an unsuspecting linebacker pic.twitter.com/4nJMtcAYr6
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) December 15, 2020

A report on Monday said the Bears have an interest in Cowboys backup quarterback Andy Dalton. So, pairing Dalton with Foles would make for two older, less mobile pocket passers and would require better pass blocking than with a mobile quarterback like Wilson.

Other Tackle Options

There are other tackles on the market, like Kansas City's Eric Williams and Mitchell Schwartz. Both would be injury risks.

Williams had a torn ACL in the AFC Championship Game and then had surgery in February. Schwartz had a back injury at midseason but did not have surgery on it until the end of February.

Whether either could be back and 100% for the season isn't known, but a sixth- or seven-month recovery time from an ACL isn't unheard of these days. It's just not advisable for a pro athlete whose career depends on being 100%.

Former Packer and Lion Ricky Wagner and former Vikings tackle Riley Reiff are among them.

The Bears currently are low on tackles. They have declined an option on Bobby Massie's contract for 2021, while Germain Ifedi, Jason Spriggs and Rashaad Coward are slated to be unrestricted free agents.

Draft analysts have described this as a deep tackle class.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven