Bears Re-Sign Polarizing Offensive Lineman: Report

After spending the 2020 season with the Chicago Bears on a “prove it” deal, offensive lineman Germain Ifedi impressed the team enough to stick around a bit longer. The Bears are signing the 6-5, 305-pound tackle to a one-year $5 million deal, per top NFL insider Adam Schefter.

A former first-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks out of Texas A&M, Ifedi was released by Seattle last offseason, when the Bears promptly picked him up. Ifedi started all 16 games for the Bears last season, playing 1,066 total snaps (682 were played at right guard and 419 played at right tackle).

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Where Ifedi Will Play is Still a Question Mark

With the Bears suffering multiple injuries to their offensive line last year, Ifedi displayed a nice versatility, moving from right guard to tackle as the situation called for. He earned a 65.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, with a pass blocking mark of 63.7 and a run blocking grade of 62.8.

Ifedi was part of a Bears’ o-line that found its footing over midway through the season when Sam Mustipher began to line up at center, Alex Bars at right guard, Ifedi at right tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard and Charles Leno Jr. at left tackle.

With Bobby Massie headed to the open market, I suspect Ifedi will fill his role. The return of left guard-center James Daniels will make it interesting for the Bears’ o-line, as Whitehair excelled at left guard in 2020, which many feel is his natural position. Whitehair was one of the top-rated left guards in the league in the last several games of the season. He earned a 60.4 overall rating at center from PFF, but while at left guard, he received an 84.7 overall rating. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see where Chicago lines everyone up at the start of next season.

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Ifedi Has Been Slightly Polarizing So Far

While it’s not entirely surprising to see Ifedi back again, some fans and analysts wondered whether $5 million wasn’t a bit of an overpay for his services. Ifedi made a base salary of $910,000 last year, and the hike in salary left some puzzled:

Others are likely hoping his issue with penalties remains in the past without rearing its ugly head again. Ifedi was flagged over 50 times in his four years with the Seahawks, but he had five penalties all last season, a career-low. Bears head coach Matt Nagy partly credits the improvement to the influence of second-year offensive line coach Juan Castillo.

“So to me, regardless of his past and what happened in Seattle, I know that Juan Castillo really works a lot of fundamentals with these guys,” Nagy said, via Sports Illustrated. “The one good thing and one strength that Juan has is with the repetition of fundamentals over and over and over, he gets these guys to really believe in what they’re doing, and that’s a strength of Juan’s and it works out for these guys, these players.”

Ifedi allowed 25 pressures, four quarterback hits and two sacks in 16 starts last year. He has been nothing if not durable, starting all but four games in his five years. His ability to shift on the line is also an asset.

“I’ve always considered myself an inside guy, a road-grader type,” Ifedi said last season, per the Bears’ official website. “But I’ve always accepted the challenge that came with playing tackle also. Whichever one is needed at the time, there’s no issue in doing either one. It’s just doing your technique and doing what you know to be natural. You can play in space [at tackle], you can play in the phone booth, too, at guard. It’s the same type of mentality playing offensive line.”

Now, he’ll be in Chicago for at least one more year — and he’s getting paid handsomely for his services.

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