After months of mixing combinations, the Bears have finally settled on giving five guys the first-team reps on the offensive line. From left to right, the Bears have gone with Braxton Jones, Cody Whitehair, Sam Mustipher, Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom.
Going into training camp, Whitehair was the only surefire starter on the line, but things slowly crystalized from there. Mustipher became the presumptive center after both Lucas Patrick and Doug Kramer went down with injuries. Jones and Borom settled in at left and right tackle, respectively, with each man staving off free agent signing Riley Reiff in an open competition. The last piece of the puzzle was Jenkins, who had the biggest whirlwind offseason of them all. He went from starting right tackle at the start of OTAs, to hurt and possibly tradebait, to healthy and delegated to second- and third-string work at right tackle. But with no good answers at right guard, the Bears decided to try Jenkins inside, and he’s stuck there ever since.
Jones and Jenkins are probably the biggest surprises among the group, and each man has earned serious praise from coaches and teammates alike.
“For a young guy, (Jones) came in kinda hot,” said Luke Getsy. “We were really excited about what he was showing. Then we put pads on and I thought heー it shocked him a little bit.”
Jones was often on his heels in the early days of training camp, with defensive ends whizzing by him.
“Obviously having Robert (Quinn) to go against every day doesn’t help,” Getsy said. “But then I thought he really did a great job of kinda digging his feet in the ground and getting right back at it. I sawー at least these last two or three weeksー I thought he’s done a really nice job of getting better every day.
“I’m excited to see what he can do, and I think he’s got a bunch of confidence in himself too, and I think he’s got an opportunity to show what he’s got.”
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Jenkins had a “fish out of water” experience all his own, switching positions just days before a preseason game. Jenkins said he hadn’t played right guard since his redshirt freshman year back at Oklahoma State. His performance under those circumstances impressed the Bears.
“I thought that showed, one, his athleticism, and two, his mental capacity,” Getsy said. “The guard position has more on his plate than the tackle position. For him to be able to go in and execute at a high level was really good.”
So the Bears have found their starting five, right? Not so fast says Getsy.
“I don’t want to go there yet,” Getsy said. “But I thought all those guys have done a nice job of getting better each day. I think you guys have naturally seen guys fall into certain positions and stuff, where they maybe feel a little bit more comfortable, so I think there’s been growth.”
Fact of the matter is, there’s still going to be some significant roster churn for the Bears after teams across the league cut down to 53 players. Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham are each former offensive linemen and will certainly have their eyes on the waiver wires this week. It wouldn’t be surprising to see players from Poles’ and Cunningham’s former teamsー the Chiefs and the Eaglesー in Halas Hall, so the starter at right tackle, or right guard, may not be on the team yet.