NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Chicago Bears: Top 10 offensive linemen in franchise history

By Carlos Nazario

LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 30: Center Jay Hilgenberg #63 of the Chicago Bears walks off the field during a game against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 30, 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The Raiders won 24-10. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 30: Center Jay Hilgenberg #63 of the Chicago Bears walks off the field during a game against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 30, 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The Raiders won 24-10. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Chicago Bears offensive lineman
CHICAGO, IL – JANUARY 23: Olin Kreutz #57 of the Chicago Bears looks on late in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field on January 23, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

10. Ed Healey (1922-27): 67 games

As with other positions around the field, Chicago Bears players revolutionized the game. Ed Healey was one of those revolutionaries.

Healey was one of the original NFL players. He started with the Rock Island Independents in 1920, then joined the Bears in 1922. He was a five-time All-Pro and named to the 1920s All-Decade team. In 1964, he became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s second class.

9. Kyle Long (2013-17): 65 games

You may think it funny that I include Kyle Long on this list. Sure, he went to three-straight Pro Bowls to start his career, but he spent the last two battling injuries, right? Well, when you look at how the Bears offensive line works with him compared to how they work without him, you see how good he is. The difference is like night and day.

Things are so much smoother when Long is in the game. He is the undisputed leader on the line and the other linemen fall in place behind him. On the field, he is mean and nasty, just how you want your linemen. Off it, he says what the other players want to say but won’t for fear of public backlash. Long takes the heat so his teammates can just do what they need to do.

Long’s play will go a long way to help quarterback Mitch Trubisky‘s success. If he plays well, he moves up in future lists. If he falters, he’ll disappear.

8. Olin Kreutz (1998-2010): 191 games

Olin Kreutz was the leader of the offensive line that helped the 2006 Chicago Bears’ running game amass 1,918 yards. That line also kept quarterback Rex Grossman upright, giving up just 25 sacks. That year was the last season the Bears made it to the playoffs.

Kreutz was a tough, mean lineman, the type you always want. In the 2011 playoffs, Jay Cutler took much grief for staying out after a knee sprain. Many contrasted him to Kreutz, who tore the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot but finished the game. Kreutz thought those comparisons were unfair and he was a big Cutler supporter.

Since Kreutz’s exit from Chicago, the Bears have desperately looked for other linemen like him.

Home/Chicago Bears