Chicago Bears: 5 Players who will surprise in 2019 training camp
OL Alex Bars
The Chicago Bears offensive line takes unsubstantiated hate. Yes, the line from a few years ago wasn’t very good, but the unit as a whole has improved each season. Last year, left tackle Charles Leno Jr. (who has taken his fair share of abuse) and center Cody Whitehair both went to the Pro Bowl.
Bobbie Massie (who took even more abuse than Leno) had a great season, even while taking criticism. He did so well that the Bears wasted no time after the end of the season to extend his contract.
The Bears brought Ted Larsen back for another go around. With the switch of Whitehair and James Daniels at the center position, Larsen will back up Whitehair at left guard. I’d look at Alex Bars, however. Larsen has a lot of miles on his body so he isn’t the Bears’ future. Yes, he can help in 2018, but the team needs to look into the future, and the future could be now with Bars.
Bars signed with the Bears as an undrafted rookie. He had a good career at Notre Dame but suffered a torn ACL and MCL that cost his season and a chance to get drafted. This could be another instance in which the Bears get lucky because of a player’s injury.
Bars will reunite with Harry Hiestand, his offensive lineman coach at Notre Dame. Hiestand was responsible for a number of linemen (Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, both top-10 picks, for example) making it to the NFL and did a fantastic job in his first season back as Chicago Bears offensive line coach. Bars wanted to end up with the Bears and Hiestand, and going undrafted afforded him with that opportunity, per NBC Sports Chicago:
"“He knows me very well, I understand his technique very well. So having that connection, that player-coach connection all four years through college is huge.”"
Bars was cleared to take part in the veterans minicamp so he finally got a chance to put on the pads. If he shows that he’s over the knee injuries, he should make a big push at Larsen. Bars might have gone in the middle rounds had it not been for his injuries, and Larsen only has a $90,000 guaranteed so, if Bars does well, the Bears probably don’t hesitate to give the job to Bars.