Chicago Bears: How the Josh Sitton release impacts free agent plans
By Ryan Heckman
The Bears have made two roster moves Tuesday, clearing nearly $10 million in cap space. How will the Sitton release impact the month of March?
The Chicago Bears have now made two notable roster decisions in one day. First, they announced they will be parting ways with linebacker Jerrell Freeman. Second, Josh Sitton is on his way out. With two moves, they cleared a chunk of cap room, so how will that impact free agency?
The #Bears have now cleared north of $10M in 2018 cap space by releasing LB Jerrell Freeman & OG Josh Sitton; hold a projected $51M heading toward free agency. https://t.co/ho8MPubMyl
— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 20, 2018
The Bears obviously need a replacement now that the 31-year-old veteran is on his way out. They have a few options. The first one, and might I add the worst of them all, would be to move Cody Whitehair back to guard.
Whitehair has excelled at center and has shown nothing but his best football on the field at center. Switching a young lineman back and forth season after season would be detrimental to the entire offensive unit. So, with that said, Chicago needs to keep Whitehair put at center.
Side note: The last thing Bears fans want to see is Hroniss Grasu back at center.
A second option for Chicago is of course to address the guard position via the NFL Draft. I have no doubt in my mind that Ryan Pace will build depth on the offensive line through this avenue.
One of the best players in this year’s class, regardless of position, is guard Quenton Nelson out of Notre Dame. Some experts even have him pegged as high as the second or third best player in the 2018 class. If Chicago can get their hands on him at number eight overall, I wouldn’t mind that pick one bit.
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Nelson is a matchup nightmare for opposing linemen. He is an elite prospect because of his dominance in both run and pass blocking. He can overpower just about anyone in front of him, and for that reason, he is the clear-cut best offensive lineman in the draft.
If Nelson is not the route the Bears choose to go, they have to address the position via free agency. One of the obvious names to look at is Andrew Norwell, the 26-year-old coming out of his contract with the Carolina Panthers.
Matt Nagy is of course going younger right off the bat, so Norwell would give his offense solidarity at the guard position for years to come. He is by far the best guard available, and would command a hefty contract. For a young quarterback like Mitch Trubisky, though, he would be worth it.
A second option that would make a lot of sense in Chicago is Zach Fulton. After being a sixth round selection in 2014, Fulton has worked his way up to being a solid starter for the Kansas City Chiefs. Last year, he started all season long at guard.
It would only make sense for Nagy to bring along a guy like Fulton, who excelled in pass protection, as he installs his offense in Chicago. Fulton is also only 26 years old, giving him plenty of room to grow and improve especially as a run blocker.
It is pretty evident that Pace is going to address the guard position heavily this offseason after releasing a guy like Sitton. They will have plenty of money to work with, so expect them to sign a Sitton replacement early on in March.