Possible Bears Trade Options to Fix Left Guard
Even in a victory for the Bears over Carolina Sunday it became obvious there is a real need for a legitimate starting left guard.
If the Bears didn't realize it in the win over Carolina, they will when they start looking at game film of Aaron Donald lining up against good left guards. This is the terrifying scenario they face Monday night in Los Angeles—Rashaad Coward blocking the best interior defensive lineman in the game with an immobile quarterback behind him.
The Bears started Coward at left guard instead of Alex Bars Sunday and plain and simply it didn't work. When a team gets 13 yards in the first half, they should trail by two touchdowns going into the locker room.
Bars played for a half in the previous game after Daniels' injury and apparently was so underwelming coaches decided on Coward as the best option. Plus, Bars has a minor shoulder injury.
In Coward's defense, the pass blocking was excellent against Carolina and they didn't allow a sack. The running game did improve by game's end and he hadn't played in a game at all this year, so it's possible he'd improve. He never had played the left side of the line at all so this was new and also could improve.
This is a lot of improvement to ask for from a player with a team possessing postseason aspirations.
The one option they haven't attempted is putting swing tackle Jason Spriggs at left guard. With Green Bay when he wasn't injured Spriggs did start two games at right guard as a rookie and impressed no one. They did win both of those games, though.
Spriggs was far more effective as a tackle with Green Bay and still didn't play great at that position. He had eight sacks allowed at guard or tackle according to Pro Football Focus. At 6-foot-6, 301 pounds, he's not the body type to be lining up at a power-blocking position like left guard.
The Bears in 2018 tried 6-7, 320-pound Bryan Witzmann at left guard after Kyle Long's injury forced them to move around their line, and he didn't quite fit what they needed. He did let them get through to season's end when Long returned.
So trading seems a good option for finding help.
Asked about making a deal on Monday, coach Matt Nagy predictably deflected this away to general manager Ryan Pace, who does not normally answer any questions in season except from the team's radio broadcast crew in pregame.
"I leave all that up to Ryan," Nagy said. "I know that trade deadline's coming up. They'll be flipping over all types of stones and checking out every position possible. That's just because they do that every year.
"If there's something that comes up that they feel is worth doing, we'll be aggressive with that. But right now, that's for them.”
When they look at trade options, there are some teams with huge surpluses on the line. Those are winning teams like the Baltimore Ravens.
A team sitting in a position to contend for the Super Bowl isn't likely to trade off linemen. They're one play from being like the Bears, without a starter at left guard.
The teams with real ability to make deals for linemen likely would be at or near last place in their division and likely to have coaching and/or general manager changes next year. They would have linemen with contracts due up after the season, as well.
Also to be considered is what the Bears could offer up. One option might be to deal away Riley Ridley and a draft pick. They are getting nothing from Ridley, even if they always speak highly of his abilities.
Whatever the Bears do, they might decide to wait a least one game before doing it. It's possible they'll want to see more from Coward before making this decision. Plus, the trade deadline is moved back to Nov. 2 this year so they have time, but time is a' wasting and with a bye approaching in a few weeks it's an ideal time to indoctrinate a player in an offense.
Here are a few options out there:
Alex Mack
The veteran Falcons center is highly respected and is a free agent next year so he's someone they could be more willing to deal away but it would cost a higher draft pick and also the Bears would need to move Cody Whitehair back to left guard, where he has been less effective as a blocker. The Falcons drafted Matt Hennessy with the intention of playing him, most likely at center. So Mack would be expendable. The Bears' problem with Mack is they would have more difficulty plugging in a center because he'd have to learn the offense quickly. Perhaps they could leave the line calls to their left guard, Whitehair, until Mack knows the offense better.
James Carpenter
A real solid option as a left guard and if the Falcons don't follow up on their big win at Minnesota it would seem likely they'd start looking for draft picks in compensation in a deal. To get a quality veteran the Bears might need to surrender a third-round draft pick. This isn't desireable. They also would be taking on a contract they may not want to assume next year at $6.5 million against the cap. Carpenter has had mediocre to poor Pro Football Focus blocking grades since 2017 but had been a solid blocker prior to this. Also, Ridley's brother is on the Falcons and it could be someone to throw into the trade, but the Falcons hardly need receivers. They could use some defense or draft picks.
Wes Martin
A second-year player as a fourth-round draft pick from Indiana, the Redskins made him into a starter at left guard but he struggled with PFF ratings in the 50s and 40s for two years. Washington pulled Martin out of the starting lineup Sunday for the first time and has several options. He's a spare part there now.
Wes Schweitzer
Washington has Brandon Scherf back from a knee injury now and Schweitzer did an adequate job backing him up. Considering they benched Martin, it would seem Schweitzer probably fits into their plans more. But you never know. He was a starter in Atlanta before going to Washington this year in free agency for three years and $13.5 million. Ron Rivera is trying to build a team and draft picks are the way. Working against the Bears trading with any team in the NFC East right now is that all of those teams remain in the running for a playoff spot. The division is that bad. And those teams may not be as willing to part with line depth looking at the future. But the Giants and Washington would be more likely to do this.
Alex Lewis
An undersized player with the Jets who is 6-6, 290 and has been playing tackle but has traditionally been a guard and center. Although he's not the biggest guy, he' has started 36 games the last four seasons for Baltimore and the Jets. The problem the Jets have now is they lack tackles and are playing him there. At this point, with their season, they'd be better off taking someone off their practice squad and dealing Lewis for a pick. He was a left guard for three years before moving to tackle this year.
Conor McDermott
The backup Jets lineman is someone they could probably pull away with a later draft pick. He was trained well initially as a New England player for two years and has been with the Jets the past two years. The big negative with McDermott is he has started only two games in his career and he is really a tackle at 6-8. This appears an unlikely option.
Fred Johnson
A 6-foot-7, 326-pound tackle for the Bengals who can play guard. The Bengals tried starting him this year twice at tackle and benched him, but the Bears took Germain Ifedi from right tackle and made him a right guard. This would be a big player with capablity. One of the Bears' own reserves
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