Chicago Bears should sign this free agent as a bandaid for 2023 season

So far, during the 2023 offseason, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has done a wonderful job putting pieces on both sides of the ball via free agency and trades.

Adding players like D.J. Moore, Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, DeMarcus Walker, Nate Davis, D’Onta Foreman, Robert Tonyan, among others, Poles has the rest of the football world singing his praises for the job he’s been able to do.

Still, the Bears have a few holes left to fill during the remainder of free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft. One of those holes that remains is a crucial one, too.

Quarterback Justin Fields doesn’t have two starting tackles at the moment, just Braxton Jones on the left side. But, the draft could change that.

One other thing that could change the situation is if the Bears were to sign veteran tackle Taylor Lewan, the longtime Tennessee Titans lineman.

He would be a bandaid, but the Chicago Bears should give offensive tackle Taylor Lewan a look

Now, over the past three years, Lewan has endured some major knee injuries. Those are absolutely a concern. However, if he is healthy, Lewan is still one of the better offensive tackles in the league today.

In his couple of games last year, Pro Football Focus gave him a strong grade of 79.4 in pass protection. Over the entirety of the 2021 season, Lewan earned a 71.0 in that area; again, a medium green grade (very good), for those wondering about PFF’s scale.-The veteran is set to turn 32 years old this summer, and he’d have to prove his knee is healthy. But, if it is, then he’d be a fantastic, low-risk signing for the Bears to hand a prove-it deal.

Lewan is one of the most popular podcasters in that world right now, working for Barstool, and coming back to play would mean he has to really love the game still. Otherwise, the money he’s made over his football career and now with his podcast is more than enough to suffice him for the rest of his life.

Would Poles consider reaching out to Lewan’s camp? If anything, it would be a call worth making. A healthy Lewan would give the Bears two stout tackles going into the bulk of their offseason work ahead.