Bear Digest

Prioritizing Bears Offensive Line Positions an Issue for Ryan Poles

Which position should Chicago's GM focus on when free agency starts, center after Drew Dalman's retirement or left tackle due to Ozzy Trapilo's injury?
Gene Chamberlain|
Theo Benedet (right), running at camp alongside Luke Newman, is one possible answer for the Bears at left tackle.
Theo Benedet (right), running at camp alongside Luke Newman, is one possible answer for the Bears at left tackle. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The disastrous loss of retired center Drew Dalman has Chicago Bears fans reeling, and this should be the case considering how good he was at his job last season.

However, it's possible they have a bigger problem to address on their offensive line. This is what compounds losing their Pro Bowl center.

The Bears still must find a way to cope with the loss of injured tackle Ozzy Trapilo, and during combine week offensive line coach Dan Roushar said on Terron Armstead's podcast that he didn't see the draft as a real option for 2026 at left tackle. Developmental time is too great at that position.

Rather, Roushar indicated the answer was going to be on their roster already—Theo Benedet or Kiran Amegadjie—unless some other option became possible among free agent tackles.

This would mean they need two free agents for the offensive line if they hope to be  competitive on offense.

Center is normally not a position where they simply can do a plug-and-play with a rookie because of the complexity of the position. Speaking on WSCR FM 104.3s Rahimi, Harris & Grote, Browns Hall-of-Fame tackle Joe Thomas called center a critical position because of the brains required with line calls, and the constant communication done with the quarterback.

"He is the translator between quarterback and the rest of the offensive linemen," Thomas said. "And so that position is something that the quarterback leans on and that's something that the guards and the tackles lean on because Drew is that guy who translates Chinese that may be coming out of the quarterback's mouth to English, that the offensive linemen are speaking."

It's not just to the linemen who need the help from centers.

"At some point during the play the quarterback isn't looking at that protection any more and he's tusting the center to be able to make any adjustment or changes to protect him and his well being," Thomas said.

With so much riding on a center's performance, it would seem this is the place for the Bears to be laying down their free agency cash right away. After Dalman's departure, they'll have about $10 million they wouldn't have had if he played, based on Overthecap.com calculations.

As the famous Lee Corso often said, "Not so fast."

The Score hosts asked Thomas which line position is most important to address, fully expecting to hear how the Bears need to spend their limited resources on a center.

"I would say you're going to want to use more resources on tackle because it requires a lot more draft capital or dollars in the salary cap to pay a quality tackle," said Thomas, who played for Cleveland from 2007-17. "And if you can't block the edges in pass protection, it doesn't matter if you've got all the guys assigned to the right protection, you're not going to be able to be very efficient and very effective protecting for your quarterback.

"So tackle is still the hardest thing to get and it's still something you want to spend your most money on."

While they all chuckled about Thomas being a tackle and sticking up for his position, he is correct. Tackles are more important.

The draft and free agency say it every year. Tackles make the most money. Last year there were six tackles drafted in Round 1 who went on to play tackle as rookies and no centers.  This year it’s likely to be a more lopsided emphasis on tackles. There are eight tackles graded above the highest-rated center on Pro Football Focus' big board.

Centers are made and tackles selected is the way it works.

"I think the tackle position is pretty healthy this year," GM Ryan Poles said of the draft class at last week's combine. "Not sure, sometimes there are years where there’s a run, where they’re all gone, where there’s a lot of them, sometimes there are a couple of guys who are sitting there waiting for you."

Poles surveyed the options that Roushar spoke about at left tackle as more likely, his own roster and free agency.

"There’s free agency, some options in free agency, resigning your own and then you have Theo’s development, and we’ve yet to put a whole offseason together with Kiran (Amegadjie) but he has shown promise at times. But a lot of different factors that can be difficult to figure out."

And now it's even more difficult to figure out because they also need a center.

Last year they didn’t think they needed to address left tackle in free agency and they signed a center because they thought they had Braxton Jones back coming off surgery at left tackle. Then he couldn’t get back to 100% healthy.

Now it’s two positions in doubt because of Trapilo’s knee injury and Dalman’s retirement.  Whatever they decide, they’ll need to do it quickly because it impacts William and where the offense can go.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.