NEWSLETTER
Ryan Poles is an offensive lineman at heart. And with the Bears hiring a former offensive lineman to be their general manager, you had to figure that group was getting an overhaul. So, while we weren’t sure how Poles would attack tweaking the position room, it felt inevitable.
As it turns out, the first phase of going about addressing the offensive line is a continuous process. With the latest addition being free agent Shaun Coleman:
We have signed tackle Shon Coleman and waived punter Ryan Winslow.@Hyundai | #DaBearshttps://t.co/aKKSwRvGRk
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 17, 2022
The Bears announced the 30-year-old lineman’s signing on Tuesday morning. And in a corresponding move making room for Coleman on the roster, the team put punter Ryan Winslow on waivers. That means seventh-round pick Trenton Gill is in the driver’s seat to be the Bears’ punter. In other words, this transaction is a two-for-one special that brings some further clarity to the roster make up.
As for Coleman, he comes to Chicago with 23 games (16 starts) of experience. All that playing experience came with Cleveland in 2016-17, the team that drafted him with a third-round pick in 2016. That 2017 is the standout year, as it was when Coleman was the team’s starting right tackle. I doubt Coleman arrives to contend with Teven Jenkins for that starting spot, but signing someone who has starting experience there isn’t the worst idea.
I’ll be curious to see how many more offseason roster tweaks Poles will make between now and when training camp starts. Because it doesn’t seem like that roster churn is coming to an end soon.
