Given what Ryan Poles has said about the offensive line this offseason, changes could be coming to the starting unit in 2022. Some have speculated that the team could pursue a top-shelf tackle, and now the Bears may have a new player to consider signing.
Fisher was drafted No. 1 overall by the Chiefs in 2013, and since then has been one of the most consistent left tackles in the league. But he parted ways with the Chiefs after tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2020 AFC Championship. It was a devastating injury, not just for Fisher, but the entire team, as Patrick Mahomes was unable to escape the Buccaneers pass rush in a blowout 31-9 loss in Super Bowl LV.
Fisher signed a one-year deal with the Colts in 2021, and remarkably made it back onto the field by Week 2. He wasn’t the dominant tackle, like he was before his Achilles injury, but he was solid in run blocking, which was the Colts’ bread and butter. When it came to pass blocking, Fisher struggled a bit more. PFF credited Fisher with seven sacks allowed in 15 games.
Fisher’s regression last season may be enough to dissuade the Bears from signing Fisher, but his credentials are enough to warrant a close look. So is his size. Poles has made it clear he wants the Bears O-line to get lighter and faster, and Fisher ticks those boxes. The Colts list Fisher at 6’7” and 315 lbs, a pretty trim weight for a tackle that tall. He’s not quite as lean as Terron Armstead, who checks in at 6’5” and 305 lbs, but Fisher does show enough agility to still chip at the line and reach the second level to block linebackers on certain run plays.
The keys will be how Poles evaluates Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom, and how the market values Fisher. If the Bears believe either Jenkins or Borom would be better suited as a guard and teams are wary about how much Fisher has left in the tank, driving down his price, a deal could be feasible. But if the usually competitive market for left tackles drives up his price, or Poles believes in both Jenkins and Borom on the edges, then the Bears may sit this one out.
