3 Centers the Chicago Bears Should Pursue in Free Agency
The Chicago Bears need to upgrade at center on the offensive line. Here are three players they should try to sign in free agency.
By Todd Welter
One of the biggest needs the Chicago Bears must address this offseason is at center.
The first reason is that the team does not officially have a center under contract. Lucas Patrick and Dan Feeney are unrestricted free agents, and the Bears have parted ways with Cody Whitehair.
The other reason is that all three of those players were not good at center last season. Whitehair could not even snap the ball well. That is the job's main function. Patrick, and the few times Feeney played, spent most of the time getting pushed back in pass protection.
Center has been a problem along the offensive line for the past couple of seasons. The Bears must find a long-term solution at such a critical position on the line this offseason.
General manager Ryan Poles can draft a center, but if he is going to draft a rookie quarterback in USC's Caleb Williams, it might be better to pair Caleb with a veteran.
Thankfully, the Bears have plenty of cap space to pursue one. Pro Football Focus' Brad Spielberger pitched the idea that spending on a center makes sense since the Bears have their tackles on rookie contracts.
The NFL salary cap rose a record $30 million per team.
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He threw out three centers the Chicago Bears should try to sign in free agency.
Lloyd Cushenberry
PFF has Cushenberry as the third-best available free-agent center. Only Connor Williams and Andre James are ranked ahead of him. Williams is coming off a torn ACL. Cushenberry makes more sense over James because he will still be 26 at the start of next season.
Lloyd Cushenberry is only 26 and ranked 10th among centers with a 73.2 PFF grade last year.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) February 21, 2024
He’s a young center on the rise and will command a strong market. If Biggs is singling him out as a target for the #Bears, I’d bet there’s legit interest in him from Chicago.
PFF did identify Cushenberry as a potential candidate to get the franchise tag from the Denver Broncos. If he does not get tagged, he would be an ideal free-agent target for Poles. We know Poles likes to sign players still under 27 that have upside.
Cushenberry is an outstanding pass blocker while run blocking is not his strength. Considering pass blocking at the center has been terrible, Cushenberry would be an immediate upgrade.