We’re only a few days into free agency, but it’s very clear that the Chicago Bears came into the offseason with one goal above any others: Fix an offensive line that has been an absolutely massive problem over the last few years. Chicago traded for Jonah Jackson and then Joe Thuney, then signed Drew Dalman during the legal tampering period.
All these moves have new Bears head coach Ben Johnson pretty fired up. (He didn’t mention Dalman in the quote below, presumably because the new league year had not opened yet and thus he was not officially on the team.)
“We want some tough, some gritty, some dirty individuals, and we feel pretty good about the two guys we got,” Johnson said of Jackson and Thuney on Wednesday, via the team’s official website. “‘Smart’ is a word that comes to mind, particularly with the interior players. We would love to have some versatility to our scheme, some multiplicity if you will. We’ve got a couple guys in the building now that we feel strongly can handle a variety of different concepts and schemes that we might want to employ each and every week.
“Beyond that, their play speaks for themselves in terms of what the tape says,” Johnson continued. “The character, the integrity, it’s top notch. I can speak firsthand with Jonah and [general manager] Ryan [Poles] can speak firsthand with Joe. I’m really, really excited to get these guys in the room. Combined with the coaches that we’ve already put together for that room, I feel really good about the style of play we’ll have this year.”
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The Bears didn’t necessarily target Jackson and Thuney coming into the offseason, but they went in that direction once they saw how things were going to be lining up in free agency.
“Obviously that wasn’t part of the plan back when we were getting ready for free agency,” Poles said. “I’ve always learned just over the last few years you’ve got to be on your toes for those things that pop up, so when you match the flexibility in doing good stuff with our salary cap with opportunities, we were able to jump on it.”
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The Bears desperately needed to get this group fixed — especially if they wanted to run Johnson’s offense. The multiplicity and versatility he mentioned were staples of his system over the last few years in Detroit, and you’re not going to be multiple or versatile if you can’t block. And the Bears definitely couldn’t block last year. You also can’t develop your No. 1 overall pick quarterback if you can’t block, and especially if you can’t block the rush coming up the middle.
With a new interior trio up front and a pair of tackles who are solid or better, plus Johnson calling the plays, there’s hope that the Bears can finally get their offense off the ground.
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