The Chicago Bears have a massive problem on their hands that will need to be addressed going into the 2025 season.
When Ryan Poles took over as the team's general manager, he promised his team would be built in the trenches.
We're now in Year 3 of the Ryan Poles Era and the trenches, both offensively and defensively, are still the top major concerns on the roster. And the Bears are going to be faced with an uphill battle when it comes to addressing one of those issues.
The Bears' offensive line is in rough shape and that's clearly been shown this season. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams currently leads the NFL in sacks taken and has been sacked 5+ times in five of the team's 13 games this season.
That should already be seen as an embarrassment for Ryan Poles and the rest of the front office. Going into this season, the offensive line was expected to be the top priority to address and the front office tried.
The Bears were able to bring in two new starters in Coleman Shelton and Matt Pryor and a depth piece in Jake Curhan in free agency along with trading for Ryan Bates and drafting Kiran Amegadjie in the fourth round.
Here's what Poles had to say about the state of the unit heading into the season:
“This is probably the best depth I’ve ever had,” Poles said back in August. “We have more versatility, more depth. Shoot, we have 10 guys, so I feel comfortable. Obviously, you want your starting five to be healthy and ready to go, but I feel more confident in the depth of our offensive line than I ever have before.”
Let's see how well that confidence in the offensive line has paid off based on how the main offensive linemen have played through the first 14 weeks of the season.
LT Braxton Jones: 5 sacks and 26 pressures allowed
LG Teven Jenkins: 4 sacks and 17 pressures allowed
C Coleman Shelton: 3 sacks and 18 pressures allowed
RG Matt Pryor: 6 sacks and 17 pressures allowed
RT Darnell Wright: 5 sacks and 21 pressures allowed
OT Larry Borom: 6 sacks and 14 pressures allowed
OG Ryan Bates: 1 sack and 3 pressures allowed
That's a combined 30 sacks and 116 pressures allowed by your top 7 offensive linemen, not even including the additional two sacks and 17 pressures allowed by other offensive linemen who played this season.
The worst part is, after "overhauling" the unit this offseason, the Bears have more questions than answers on the offensive line going into this offseason. Right now, you only have one starter in Darnell Wright you have somewhat confidence in and three starters set to hit free agency.
Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Matt Pryor, and Larry Borom are expected to hit the market when the season ends. Only Jenkins should be considered to get an extension with the team, but even that's a question itself given his injury history.
Then you have Braxton Jones, who has played inconsistently at left tackle since a promising rookie season. Jones has one more year on his deal after this season and the Bears might be better off looking into an upgrade at his position this offseason.
Fortunately, the Bears do have plenty of cap space and top draft picks to work with in hopes of rebuilding the offensive line to help protect quarterback Caleb Williams.
In free agency, players such as Trey Smith and Jedrick Wills headline the list of players the Bears could target. In the draft, the team currently holds a Top-10 selection and potentially will have a total of three picks in the Top-50 to address either front.
Poles and the front office will likely get one more chance to get this unit right. If not, the continued failure to create a stable offensive line would be a fireable offense, and some already believe it should be viewed as one.
