While the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions were shuffling their rosters ahead of Tuesday’s NFL Trade Deadline, the NFC North leading Chicago Bears stayed silent and stood pat. But that doesn’t mean the team won’t be looking at external options moving forward:
#Bears worked out former #Redskins G Adam Gettis along with former #Jets OLB Lorenzo Mauldin and former #Jaguars G/C Luke Bowanko.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) October 30, 2018
The Bears reportedly worked out a pair of offensive lineman on Tuesday, which makes sense seeing that starting right guard Kyle Long is going to be out for the next 6-8 weeks because of an injured right foot.
Adam Gettis is a local product (Lincoln-Way East High School) who played his college ball at Iowa and was a fifth-round pick by Washington in 2012. Gettis has played in 17 games (one start) as he has shuffled around the league, spending time with Pittsburgh, Oakland, Tampa Bay, and two stints with the New York Giants. The NFL.com’s 2012 draft profile paints him as a polished blocker with good footwork who shows up on film, but undersized and not as strong as you would want your offensive lineman to be.
Luke Bowanko was a 2014 sixth-round pick by Jacksonville and has starting experience at left tackle (2017 Ravens) and center (2014 Jaguars). Bowanko signed with the Patriots in 2018 and spent training camp and preseason with the team before being released on September 1. The University of Virginia product is a versatile lineman who played both guard positions and center in college, which is the kind of thing the Bears could value highly as a depth piece.
Chicago could use all the offensive line help it can get with Long out for a while and Eric Kush – while expected to return to the lineup – having dealt with a neck injury in recent weeks.
The Bears also brought in outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin for a tryout. Mauldin was a third-round pick by the Jets in 2015 and has an intriguing prospect pedigree. ESPN’s scouting services ranked Mauldin as the 67th best defensive end high school prospect and was recruited by Kentucky and South Carolina before choosing Louisville. In his senior season at Louisville, Mauldin moved from defensive end to outside linebacker, where he thrived as he picked up 9.5 sacks en route to earning second-team All-ACC honors.
Mauldin comes with some off-the-field baggage that’s worth noting. CBS local in New York reported that Mauldin turned himself into police in June 2017 and was charged with misdemeanor assault stemming from an incident in April in which he was accused of punching a man in the face who accidentally spilled champagne on him.
Chicago isn’t necessarily in the market for a pass-rusher, but I suppose depth at the position could always be helpful. After all, the Bears didn’t add an outside linebacker to their roster when Sam Acho went on IR with a season-ending injury. The team instead opted to add offensive lineman Bryan Wintzmann, so finding depth at another position isn’t necessarily out of the question.