Chicago Bears: Bobby Massie under pressure in contract year

Offensive tackle Bobby Massie, who is entering his contract year, likely needs a big 2018 season to remain a member of the Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Bears have tried to make a concerted effort to protect quarterback Mitchell Trubisky by improving the play of the offensive line. The team drafted James Daniels in the second-round of the 2018 NFL draft and signed veteran Earl Watford in free agency. Both players play guard/center, however, meaning that Bobby Massie is locked-and-loaded as the team’s starting right tackle.

Massie had an up-and-down 2017 season, surrendering six sacks and being called for four penalties. His grade from Pro Football Focus Edge was just 69.9, which followed a grade of 71.9 in 2016 and 73.3 in 2015. He allowed many additional pressures on the quarterback and had some shaky moments as a run blocker.

With all this being said, Massie is facing virtually no competition for his job. Charles Leno Jr. isn’t facing any competition either on the left side, but at least he’s shown some signs of progress. Massie, based on Pro Football Focus’ grading, has progressively gotten worse each of the past three seasons.

PFF isn’t the end-all be-all, but it is a respected site which helps gauge how a player is performing. Even if you discard their grading and simply judge Massie with your own eye, you can tell his performance has dropped slightly over the past couple of seasons.

Having Harry Hiestand on board as offensive line coach should help, but he’s not a miracle worker. Massie is a free agent after this season, meaning he might have some extra motivation to try to have a career-year in 2018. It would be great if Massie blossomed into the kind of player the Bears envisioned when they signed him in 2016, but at this point, it’s probably more realistic to just try to hope he doesn’t regress even more.

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The Bears really need Massie to have a solid year. Mitchell Trubisky is the future, and he needs to make it through the season unscathed. There’s only so much the Bears can do to try to help out Massie; eventually, he’ll have to face some elite pass rushers one-on-one. For everyone’s sake, let’s hope Massie responds in his contract-year and helps keep Trubisky in one piece.