Bears Are One Move Away From Winning the NFL Offseason
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace has made some nice additions this offseason. The most notable is the one that brought Nick Foles to town to compete with Mitchell Trubisky for the starting quarterback job.
He also added Robert Quinn on defense and used the team's first draft pick on Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet. Yet the focus all goes back to the quarterback. Protecting Foles or Trubisky is the key to success and one star offensive guard just hit the market Friday. That player is Larry Warford, and Pace should try to sign him right away.
I know the #Bears don't have a lot of cap space, but Larry Warford is coming off of three straight Pro Bowl appearances and is still under 30.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) May 8, 2020
He'll be high in demand, but Ryan Pace should run a full-court press on him to boost their offensive line. https://t.co/a7t6vxj9i8
The New Orleans Saints made the surprising move to cut the three-time Pro Bowler and he should be an obvious target for Chicago. Warford could step in immediately at right guard and replace the likes of Rashaad Coward or Germain Ifedi ... or the Bears could just shift around the line to their liking and see what works best.
There was some buzz around draft time that Saints were shopping OG Larry Warford. Now, after his release, a good veteran interior lineman becomes available without draft-pick compensation attached.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 8, 2020
The tricky part for the Bears is making the salary work. The team has just under $10 million in cap space right now and Warford was just on a four-year, $34 million deal. A move or two may need to be made, but when a Pro Bowl guard unexpectedly hits the market, plans change and adjustments need to be made for the betterment of the team.
Trubisky was sacked 38 times last season and Foles is not the most mobile of quarterbacks. Pace can change the narrative surrounding him and his team by picking up the phone and doing what it takes to sign Warford.