Chicago Bears: 5 Free agents to sign before training camp
4. Larry Warford, OG
As mentioned before, the Chicago Bears’ offensive line is a point of contention. The unit struggled last season after having two of its members go to the Pro Bowl in 2018. Many fans want the entire line replaced but that’s just not feasible.
Guard James Daniels and center Cody Whitehair are its best players. Tackles Charles Leno and Bobby Massie have had their struggles but the team will have salary cap repercussions if they get cut.
The Bears end up with $7.4 million in dead money if it gets rid of Leno and with Massie, it’s a $3.8 million cap hit and $12.1 million in dead money. That means Leno and Massie aren’t going anywhere…yet.
That leaves the right guard position. Fan-favorite Kyle Long just couldn’t take all the injuries anymore. His body broke down too much and he had to retire (or, to hear him say it, he was forced out by Nagy). That means there will be a battle for that spot.
Germain Ifedi, Rashaad Coward and Alex Bars likely fight for the starting job. They all have their negatives, however. Ifedi, a former first-round pick, has struggled with penalties and allowing too much pressure. Coward wasn’t supposed to be in the mix for the starting job last season, had to be thrown to the fire after
Long and Ted Larsen both went down. He struggled mightily as a starter. Bars doesn’t have much experience. He spent his rookie season trying to get right after he suffered a knee injury in his senior season with Notre Dame.
Suddenly a great option popped up. Larry Warford, a three-time Pro Bowl guard was let free by the New Orleans Saints. The prevailing thought is that he’d demand big money to sign but as more time passes by the price comes down.
Nagy is already on the record saying that the Bears are comfortable with the offensive line. That might be the case, but if they can acquire a player who played in the last three Pro Bowls and who automatically makes the line better at a bargain price the team would have to at least think about it.