The first piece of the offensive line puzzle is in place as the Chicago Bears announced they have re-signed offensive lineman Bradley Sowell to a two-year contract.
Sowell was one of the team’s most important lineman, despite starting just two games last season. He appeared in all 16 games and split his 297 offensive snaps at guard and tackle as the Bears often found themselves mixing and matching players to come up with a healthy front. And because he proved himself to be versatile and reliable, the Bears rewarded the 28-year-old lineman with a new two-year deal.
We haven’t seen the details of the extension trickle out just yet, but we’ll update this post as soon as they do.
As of now, Sowell slides into the swing tackle role as the primary backup to Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie, as well as Kyle Long and whomever is playing at left guard. Sowell started nine games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 and 12 games as a starting tackle for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013, so it’s good to see the Bears invest in line depth with a player who has starting experience and some familiarity with the rest of his linemates.
The Bears entered Monday with just 46 players under contract for 2018, so they had to start rounding out the roster sooner or later. And investing in the protection and surrounding of Mitch Trubisky with talented players is always good place to start. So even if reasonable two-year deals may not be as sexy as finally inking that free agent wide receiver (or two), it’s still very much important.
Michael Cerami contributed to this post.