Chicago Bears: Morgan Moses would be a solid addition for 2021

Arguably one of the biggest issues facing the Chicago Bears this offseason was the progression of their offensive line. With Cody Whitehair, Sam Mustipher, and James Daniels all back in the fold and healthy, the interior of the line appears to be set.

However, serious questions remain on the outside. The Bears parted way with both their starting tackles from 2020 earlier this offseason with the release of Charles Leno only becoming official today.

This created holes to fill at both tackle spots and luckily Pace was able to find a steal with Teven Jenkins who is projected to take over at left tackle but a cloud still hangs over the right tackle spot. Thus far, it has been unclear whether the Bears want to hand the job over to Germain Ifedi who played well at right tackle down the stretch last season, or to Larry Borom, a fifth-round draft pick who has shown promise thus far in camp.

The Chicago Bears are still trying to address the offensive tackle position.

With the official release of Leno creating approximately 8.5 million dollars in cap space, the assumption was that the Bears were creating space to sign their rookie class. However, their interest in many veteran free agents ranging from Steven Nelson to Bashaud Breeland and now Morgan Moses highlights a different direction.

The Chicago Bears are scheduled to meet with Morgan Moses on Wednesday, June 2nd and hopefully, the team will be able to sign him to a relatively cheap one-year prove-it deal. Moses would provide a substantial upgrade over Massie, particularly due to his ability to stay healthy. Morgan Moses has started all 16 games for six years in a row whereas Massie only played in eight contests in 2020 after only playing in 10 games in 2019.

Additionally, Moses is viewed as a player who is still ascending. Washington drafted Samuel Cosmi, a tackle out of Texas, in round 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft and most likely moved on from Moses due to his cap number and because Cosmi will be much cheaper over the next few years.

Lastly, one of the departments the Chicago Bears needed to improve in the most was their rushing offense. Last season, David Montgomery ranked 33rd in the NFL in rushing yards before contact/attempt (1.9). Antonio Gibson, behind a Washington offensive line that had their own share of struggles, ranked 14th (2.6).

Surely, signing Morgan Moses would greatly elevate the Bears rush blocking and with Montgomery coming off a season where he ranked third in the NFL among running backs for broken tackles, he could be poised for an even bigger season in 2021 with Moses anchoring the right side of the line.

All in all, the Chicago Bears are showing that they were not content simply finding a new quarterback to lead the team in 2021. They have identified the positions and position groups that created issues for them in 2020 and have taken steps to actively address them going into next season despite their tight cap situation. Nothing highlights this more than their reported pursuit of Morgan Moses. I hope this ends with him signing on to join a suddenly formidable offensive line in Chicago.