With wide receivers struggling, Tanner Gentry deserves a shot

With a struggling receiving core, preseason darling Tanner Gentry deserves to get the call up to the Chicago Bears active roster.

In 4 games, the Chicago Bears have been a mix of excitement, joy, and sadness. Quarterback play has been the worst part of the offense so far, as Mike Glennon should not have been starting for the team. Especially when 2nd overall pick Mitchell Trubisky was just rotting away on the sideline, but Glennon is not all to blame. The wide receiving core has been less than inspiring through the first quarter of the season, as the top receiver only has 154 yards total, that number belongs to Kendall Wright. With 3 of the top 6 players with receptions on the team being a Tight End and the 2 Running Backs, something must change. The solution to all those problems could be Tanner Gentry.

Coming into the season, the Bears had 2 promising ball catchers at the position in Kevin White and Cameron Meredith, sadly they both went down with season ending injuries in the early part of the season. When the team drafted white with the 7^th pick in the 2015 draft, he was supposed to be the complimentary piece next to Alshon Jeffrey. That never worked out, as he suffered a stress fracture in his shins during training camp that season.

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In 2016, finally healthy, White was expected to step up. After only 4 games he would fracture the tibia in his left leg. Once again, his season was over.

In his third year with the team, one where he was needed to be the main guy after Alshon left for greener pastures, White was finally the man. After a strong preseason, White would once again get hurt, fracturing his shoulder blade against the Atlanta Falcons.

Currently the Bears best receiver is Kendall Wright, despite being a decent route runner, he is not the future for the team at receiver. That distinction belongs to Tanner Gentry, who feasted on opposing defenses in the preseason. Despite going undrafted out of Wyoming, where he had future NFL QB Josh Allen throwing the ball to him, impressed many coaches during the preseason. In one game against the Tennessee Titans, Gentry would make a highlight catch on a throw from Trubisky.

So far in 2017, Gentry only has 3 total targets in the NFL, making 2 catches for 27 yards. Now that the Chicago Bears have made the move at quarterback to Mitch Trubisky, they need to make the move at receiver also. It is best to let these two get playing time together for the future, especially in a lost season. Let us know what you think of Tanner Gentry, and if he could solve the receiving problems in the comments below!