It’s become almost a cliché to talk about the offensive line issues for the Chicago Bears. While newly acquired vet Jason Peters has been playing well, as has Germain Ifedi in his second season in Chicago, the rest of the unit has been a disappointment so far, and the lack of depth, particularly with rookies Larry Borom on injured reserve and Teven Jenkins out indefinitely, is concerning.
So far, heading into Week 3, here’s how the Bears’ OL is stacking up against the rest of the league, per PFF:
Run blocking rankings:
- LT Jason Peters, No. 34 (out of 74)
- RT Germain Ifedi, No. 63 (out of 74)
- RG James Daniels: No. 65 (out of 69)
- LG Cody Whitehair: No. 51 (out of 69)
- C Sam Mustipher: No. 32 (out of 33)
Pass blocking rankings:
- Jason Peters: No. 6 (out of 74)
- Germain Ifedi: No. 11 (out of 74)
- James Daniels: No. 46 (out of 69)
- Cody Whitehair: No. 58 (out of 69)
- Sam Mustipher: No. 23 (out of 33)
While the play from Chicago’s tackles has been surprisingly good, the guards have been disappointing so far. Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report has a trade suggestion in which the Bears give up a Day 3 draft pick in exchange for a veteran Super Bowl-winning OL, and it’s equally realistic and intriguing.
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BR Trade Proposal: OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to Chicago
Here’s why Tansey thinks the Bears could — and should — pull off an early in-season trade for the 30-year-old Kansas City Chiefs OL:
“The rearrangement of Kansas City’s offensive line left Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on the second level of the depth chart. Since the Chiefs are committed to their revamped unit, they could look to get something for the 30-year-old on the trade market. Duvernay-Tardif spent all of his career as an offensive guard, so he would not be a direct solution to Chicago’s struggles at left tackle. If he is one of the best offensive linemen available, it could rework its offensive line to fit him in and give its quarterback more protection. … Chicago may only need a third-day draft pick to acquire Duvernay-Tardif in an attempt to bolster its interior protection.”
Bears head coach Matt Nagy, of course, is very familiar with Kansas City, and he worked with Duvernay-Tardif during the 2015-17 seasons. Duvernay-Tardif broke a bone in his hand during an August practice, missing time, but the injury didn’t require surgery, and he should be ready to contribute at guard if needed if a trade were to go down.
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Duvernay-Tardif Hasn’t Played Since 2019
The 6-foot-5, 321-pound lineman played in 60 games for the Chiefs from 2015-19, starting 57. Kansas City selected him in the sixth round (200th overall) of the 2014 draft, and after sitting his rookie season, he became a core member of the team’s OL. Duvernay-Tardif was the starting right guard in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV win over the San Francisco 49ers.
He had a fractured fibula in Week 5 of the 2018 season, but other than that and the recent broken finger, he has no red flags injury-wise.
The veteran offensive lineman didn’t play last year, however. Duvernay-Tardif is the only active NFL player to graduate from medical school, and he was the first player to opt out last year. During the 2020 season, he worked as an orderly in a health care facility in Montreal, assisting the medical staff during the pandemic. He’s back now, though, but a re-vamped Chiefs OL has left his place in question.
Duvernay-Tardif isn’t a long-term answer, but he would be some solid depth while providing an invaluable veteran presence for some of the younger guys on the Bears’ o-line. Plus, he’d likely come cheap, presumably in exchange for a 6th or 7th round pick. It’s certainly one of the more realistic trade proposals for the Bears to come around recently, and adding OL help makes too much sense for Chicago. We’ll see if they do it.
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Bears Linked to Super Bowl Winner in Logical Trade Proposal