NEWSLETTER
There was an expectation that the Chicago Bears would be aggressive in addressing their offensive line needs via free agency.
However, that hasn’t been the case to this point.
In fact, the Bears have seen a handful of offensive linemen go off the board. The latest one being offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor, who is leaving the Jacksonville Jaguars to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs:
Wow. This is one stings. And on multiple levels, too. Firstly, Taylor’s pending signing with the Chiefs takes him off the market. Just one fewer player for the Bears to be “in” on in free agency. Chicago would’ve done well by targeting Taylor, an ascending player coming off his best season and trending in the right direction. Instead, he goes to Kansas City. Secondly, that the Chiefs are signing Taylor to play left tackle blows my mind. That Andy Reid and that brain trust thinks Taylor is good enough to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blindside speaks volumes about what they think of him now and what they project for him in the future. And if he is good enough to block for Mahomes, why wouldn’t he be good enough to block for Justin Fields?
Also, what does this say about Orlando Brown Jr.? Do the Chiefs see him as a player on the decline? Or was Brown too expensive to bring back? What do the Chiefs know that the rest of the league doesn’t? I just have so many questions, but no answers. At least, not from a Chicago football perspective.
Suddenly, I have concerns about how the Bears are going about rebuilding their offensive line. Because while there has been ample talk about that being a priority, the action hasn’t backed the chatter. In fact, Chicago’s football team has been awfully quiet since snagging linebacker T.J. Edwards as their first big move. We figure more moves are still on the way. But we’re apparently in a holding pattern. What gives? I guess Tom Petty was right when he sang about waiting being the hardest part.
