NEWSLETTER
In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Chicago, Chicago Bears offensive lineman Cody Whitehair confirms he is returning to the center position.
And it sounds like the early returns are good.
“In two days of OTAs that were open to the media, Whitehair didn’t snap any balls over Fields’ head out of the shotgun,” writes NBC Sports Chicago’s Alex Shapiro. “Everything looked clean.”
Whew! That’s a relief. The last thing we were needing were reports of a problematic center-quarterback exchange.
Whitehair’s return has long been speculated, but nothing was made officially official. And with the first official depth charts being weeks (or even months) away from going on the board, we wouldn’t have gotten it as officially official for a while. But with Whitehair’s interview, we get the news we’ve been expecting to see from the Bears offensive line for some time now. And this is what the line figures to look like in Week 1 if all goes well:
On the surface, this looks like a good group. At a minimum, it should be better than what it was at end of the 2022 season. And I definitely feel better than how I did when comparing how I felt at this time last year. This isn’t to say that this Bears offensive line will be world-beaters in 2023. One tackle is a second-year player trying to prove last year wasn’t a fluke. The other is a rookie first-rounder out to prove himself in the league. The right guard is a new addition via free agency. He’ll have something to prove to a whole new coaching staff and fanbase. Meanwhile, the left guard is playing his fourth different position in three years as a pro. Plus, he has to go out and prove the injury bug that has nagged him in the past isn’t going to continue.
And then there is Whitehair, preparing to show he can cut it at center once again.
For what it’s worth, Whitehair’s best work has come at center. It is the position Whitehair has graded out best at by Pro Football Focus’ standards. And it is also the position Whitehair was playing when he earned Pro Bowl honors for his work in 2018. Sure, I’d like to not re-visit 2018 as often as I do. However, I think Bears fans would be happy if Whitehair turns back the clock and plays at that level. But with that being said, he can’t afford to have snapping be an issue. There were moments during his time at center when snapping was an issue. That Whitehair hasn’t had issues to this point is encouraging. Although, we’d like to see it in practices with pads and preseason games before we can breathe with ease when thinking about the new center.
In the end, I’d still encourage you to take some time and dig into Shapiro’s piece at NBC Sports Chicago. Because in addition to Shapiro’s discussing how Whitehair was looking at OTAs, the new (again) Bears center explains how the position switch came about, what he has done to prepare, comparing his tape to Fields’ Ohio State center Josh Myers, and other anecdotes. Happy reading!
