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The Chicago Bears suffered a big potential blow to their offensive line during their first day of mandatory veteran minicamp.
Free agent acquisition Dakota Dozier, who signed a one-year, $1.12 million deal with the Bears in March of 2022, went down in practice on June 14 and had to be carted off. “Dozier, who has spent some time with starters at right guard this spring, was taken by cart to the locker room late in practice,” Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported.
Third-year OL Sam Mustipher is the leading contender to start at RG with Dozier out. Adam Jahns of The Athletic reported Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said “all combinations are open” when it comes to putting together the team’s starting O-line, which means second-year linemen Larry Borom and Teven Jenkins could also get snaps at the position.
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Dozier’s Injury Leaves Void on Bears’ O-Line
The severity of Dozier’s injury has yet to be revealed, but Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune noted it “looked like a left knee injury.” Regardless, it’s never a good sign when a player gets carted off the field.
While Dozier was competing for a starting job, he was also brought in to provide depth on an offensive line that was just ranked 31st out of 32 O-lines heading into the 2022 season by PFF. His injury muddies the already opaque situation up front for the Bears, who will need to add a replacement for Dozier either in free agency or via trade.
Dozier, who spent his first four seasons with the New York Jets (2015-18), also played for the Minnesota Vikings for three years, from 2019-2021. He played six games in 2021, seeing his playing time limited after battling COVID pneumonia.
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What Free Agent OL Options Exist for Bears?
Windy City Gridiron’s Jacob Infante tweeted out a list of available free agent offensive linemen, and it’s not a promising group. The best of the bunch are former Washington Commanders starter Ereck Flowers and former Cleveland Browns starting center J.C. Tretter.
The Bears signed former Green Bay Packers O-lineman Lucas Patrick to be their starting center in 2022, but Tretter, an eight-year veteran, has missed just one game over the last five seasons, per PRF, playing in 111 games over his career. Infante suggested adding Tretter to take over at center, moving Patrick, who has played 1,065 snaps at right guard over his career, to the guard slot.
Considering both his experience and his durability, Tretter is an attractive option, and Patrick is versatile enough for this kind of swap to work. Patrick has played more snaps at right guard than he has at center (958), so it’s not like he’d be playing a position he’s not comfortable with.
Adding a player of Tretter’s ilk could also help anchor an offensive line that needs to be strong for second-year quarterback Justin Fields to play optimally.
Much will likely depend on Dozier’s injury and his timetable to return, but the Bears need to address their O-line issues now more than ever, particularly if Dozier is going to be out indefinitely.
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