Chicago Bears (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace chose to sign yet another former NFL Draft bust in Germain Ifedi to come in and compete on the offensive line.
There seems to be a little bit of a trend with some of Ryan Pace’s moves this offseason. The Chicago Bears recently brought in 2016 first-round pick Artie Burns to try and bolster their competition at cornerback. Wednesday, they inked another first rounder from the exact same draft class.
Burns was selected no. 25 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and just six picks later the Seattle Seahawks chose offensive lineman Germain Ifedi out of Texas A&M.
Over his NFL career, Ifedi has started 60 games for the Seahawks. At first glance, one might think that’s quite impressive. But, when looking at how Russell Wilson has been running for his life for most of the last few seasons, your excitement level should drop significantly.
One of the main reasons Pace brought in Ifedi is due to his versatility. He has played both guard and tackle in Seattle, but will likely suit up at the former in Chicago.
The Bears, of course, lost former starting guard Kyle Long to retirement this offseason and are in search for a replacement. While Ifedi might be a nice name, as a former first-round selection, he cannot be the answer.
This is a low-risk pickup, but the Bears have to address the offensive line in the upcoming NFL Draft. With two second-round selections, Chicago will have its share of some strong candidates along the line. Whether that’s Matt Hennessy out of Temple, Cesar Ruiz of Michigan, or even going after one of the better offensive tackles at that point, the Bears must bolster the offensive line in the second round.
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Ifedi’s struggles, a lot of times, have come from mental mistakes. In his four seasons as a pro, he has been penalized 46 times — 29 of those being false starts
On the positive side, he’s remained relatively healthy and has indeed been a starter — that’s something. The Ifedi signing gives me similar thoughts to when the Bears signed former Arizona Cardinals starter Bobby Massie. Obviously, Massie improved greatly since signing with Chicago and has become a fairly decent starter up front — good enough to earn an extension, in fact.
The Bears didn’t exactly solidify their offensive line with bringing in Ifedi, but they added a body — and that’s a start. As I said, hopefully this isn’t the end and, in fact, is the beginning of bolstering depth in that area. Now, we continue to look on at other free agents and forward to the draft.