NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears continue to build out depth along their offensive line.
A week after swinging a trade for Ryan Bates, Bears General Manager Ryan Poles is striking again with the addition of offensive lineman Matt Pryor:
The Athletic’s Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain have the scoop on Chicago’s newest offensive line signing. And it comes just in time for us to ring in the new league year.
Who is Matt Pryor and what will he do for the Bears?
Pryor, 29, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He played 27 games (10 starts) in two years in Philly. He then moved on to Indianapolis for the 2021 and 202 seasons. While with the Colts, Pryor played another 33 games (with 14 starts). The TCU product was with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 and played 15 games, but made no starts.
Pryor earned an 88.5 grade from Pro Football Focus in 42 snaps played. That isn’t a lot of playing time, so I don’t want to try and turn that number into something it isn’t. Although, I guess there is something to be said about making the most of your playing time. What is most notable about Pryor’s past (beyond last year) is how he has been deployed. Last year, Pryor played snaps at left tackle (5), left guard (11), and right tackle (26). In 2022, he played 212 snaps at right guard. If you go up and down his profile, you’ll notice he has played everywhere but center. Now, that is what I would call positional flexibility.
I suppose this is where I point out that Pryor has a history with Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus (who was with the Colts in 2021) and Assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham (who was with the Eagles when he was drafted). Sometimes, who you know is as important as what you can do. From a Bears perspective, the two things come together nicely as Chicago’s football team lands a position-flexible player whom the front office and coaching staff have familiarity with going back to previous stops.
Perhaps I am in the minority, but I felt last year’s offensive line was better than it was given credit for by others. This isn’t to say this group was worthy of blind praise. But the collective effort and production was admirable and solid. Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, and Darnell Wright deserve kudos for how they played last season. Moreover, I’m looking forward to seeing how this group plays together this year with a new center and a healthy Nate Davis.
With that being said, I don’t want to overlook the value of useful depth. At a minimum, that is what acquisitions of Matt Pryor and Ryan Bates do for this team. They add depth and flexibility that this unit didn’t really have last year. It’s not as if they didn’t have players who had positional versatility. For instance, Lucas Patrick and Cody Whitehair both had that in their games. But Patrick dealt with injuries and Whitehair’s play was inconsistent. The way I see it, replacing Patrick and Whitehair with Bates and Pryor looks like an upgrade. But maybe it’s because I can’t imagine it being much of a downgrade.
