After Being Demoted In Favor Of Chris Spencer, Chilo Rachal Walks Out

For most of the season, Chicago Bears fans were clamoring for the team’s offensive line to show some toughness; to show some fight; to show some push-back. The common criticism of the Bears’ offensive line, besides being an open door to the quarterback, is that the unit failed to show physical traits against opposing defenses. On Wednesday, however, one member of the Chicago Bears’ offensive showed all of those aforementioned qualities. The only problem is that it was on the practice field and not against an opposing defense.

Sep 13, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Chicago Bears center Chris Spencer (67) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Bears 23-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

On Wednesday, the Bears decided to make a change on the offensive line. After reading that, the question that should have surfaced in your mind is what tackle did the Bears replace. Did the Bears replace left tackle J’Marcus Webb? Or did the Bears replace right tackle Gabe Carimi? The answer is neither. Despite both Webb and Carimi having the most struggles of any offensive linemen for the Bears this season, the team currently has no plans to replace either tackle. The change the Bears made on Wednesday was replacing Chilo Rachal as the team’s starting left guard in favor of Chris Spencer. Upon news of his demotion, reports indicate that Rachal was very upset to the point where he left the team. The Bears have since placed Rachal on the reserved/left squad list, and the left guard has five days to return to team before being ruled ineligible for the remainder of the game.

While I am not condoning Rachal’s actions, there is reason for the former San Francisco 49er to be upset. Rachal replaced Spencer in Week 3 of the regular season, and was one of the last concerns the Bears had on the offensive line. Despite that notion, the Bears opted to replace Rachal with Spencer. While Spencer was a good addition to the Bears’ offensive line last season, the former Seattle Seahawk has yet to show any signs of being worthy of starter status this season. Spencer struggled considerably during preseason, and those struggles continued during the first two weeks of the season. The move to replace Rachal with Spencer is certainly a questionable decision by the Bears, especially because both Webb and Carimi remain starters.

Considering how Rachal reacted to his demotion, his return to the team would appear to be questionable at best.