Bears Projected to Part Ways With Former 1st-Round Talent

The Chicago Bears are a little more than two months away from having to make 53-man roster decisions for the 2023 season, but there is one former first-round draft pick who already projects to be on the roster bubble in August.

On June 19, The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain put together a 53-man roster projection for the Bears following the completion of their offseason program and notably left 24-year-old Alex Leatherwood off the list of offensive linemen he believes will make the roster. He wasn’t alone, either, as Nicholas Moreano of CHGO published his own roster prediction on June 20 and also had Leatherwood missing the cut for the Bears.

“As far as the roster projection goes, there’s no doubt about the top six. [Ja’Tyre] Carter, who got reps with the first team in [Nate] Davis’ absence, and [Larry] Borom, the top reserve tackle with the versatility to play either side, make the most sense,” Fishbain wrote. “After that, it could be anyone among [Dieter] Eiselen, Doug Kramer or Alex Leatherwood.

“We’ll give the mid-June nod to Eiselen, who has the versatility to play center or guard. Ask me tomorrow, and it might be Kramer or Leatherwood, or even Kellen Diesch, who played second-team left tackle this spring and could also work his way into the mix.”

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Leatherwood Disappointed in Limited 2022 Showing

The Bears claimed Leatherwood — the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft — from the Las Vegas Raiders following last preseason’s 53-man roster cuts, essentially taking an affordable flier on a former first-round talent who, at the time, had three years and $5.9 million fully guaranteed left on his rookie contract. The acquisition, however, did not lead to anything meaningful for the Bears in Leatherwood’s first season in Chicago.

Three days after the Bears’ season-opening win against San Francisco, Leatherwood landed on the reserve/non-football illness list with what Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported to be mononucleosis and spent the next six weeks on the list before getting activated again on October 28. It took another month after his activation for him to finally make his Bears debut against the Green Bay Packers in Week 13, and even then he only played a handful of snaps (10) at the right tackle position.

It was a promising start for Leatherwood, who allowed zero pressures on his seven pass-blocking snaps against the Packers, but he struggled in his follow-up game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He played 17 offensive snaps with 10 as a pass-blocker and yielded four pressures, three hurries and one sack against the Super Bowl runner-ups.

After that, the Bears buried Leatherwood on the depth chart and only played him for five more offensive snaps on the year, moving him to guard for their season finale.

Surely, Leatherwood gets cut some slack for not getting to spend a full offseason learning the Bears’ offensive system with the rest of his teammates. Spending nearly three months recovering from mono also likely didn’t help his adjustment process, but none of that changes the fact that Leatherwood is entering a make-or-break training camp with the Bears in 2023 that could end with him searching for his next team.

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Can Bears Unlock Leatherwood’s Potential for 2023?

Leatherwood’s career outlook at this point is, in a word, bleak. The team that made a first-round investment in him didn’t even keep him around for a second season, and he has done nothing since to distinguish himself as a competent lineman for the Bears. With a somewhat worrying need for quality depth, though, the Bears have all the reason in the world to hold out hope that they can unlock Leatherwood’s potential for 2023.

There are few doubts about the Bears’ starting offensive line heading into 2023 camp. Braxton Jones returns as their starting left tackle after a promising rookie season, while Teven Jenkins (left guard) and Cody Whitehair (center) are each also returning to the starting lineup in new positions. To patch the rest of the holes, the Bears signed veteran right guard Nate Davis to a three-year contract and cashed in their first-round pick (No. 10 overall) on former Tennessee standout Darnell Wright, their new right tackle.

While the Bears do have a solidified group of starters, though, one injury could unravel the entire thing based on the current depth personnel on their roster.

That’s where Leatherwood could earn his keep. The Bears seem more interested in playing him on the inside at one of their guard positions based on where he played during OTAs, but it works to his advantage that he can also play right tackle if they ever need someone to fill in on short notice. If he can string together strong performances on the interior during the preseason and outshine one of Carter, Eiselen or Borom, there could be a spot waiting for him on the 53-man roster after all.

One additional incentive for the Bears to keep the faith with Leatherwood is the contract they inherited from the Raiders. According to Over the Cap, Chicago would actually lose about $2.62 million in cap space if they released Leatherwood any time between now and the start of the 2023 regular season. The move would also leave them with $4.59 million in dead money for the upcoming year, which is something the cash-flush Bears certainly afford to take on, but it might be against their best interests with a need for offensive line depth and the potential for Leatherwood to realize his potential.

Don’t forget; If Leatherwood does show growth for the Bears in 2023 and becomes a competent member of their offensive line with starter upside, they would still have him locked down for the 2024 season on a rookie contract. They can also decide to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2025 season next May if he exceeds expectations.

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