Hub Arkush’s 2020 Bears report card: Offensive line

We have seen worse offensive lines than the Bears’ 2020 edition, but it’s not a long list.

It is noteworthy because as much or possibly even more than the quarterback position, the offensive line has held back the development of coach Matt Nagy’s offense as he envisions it, and it has signaled a really poor evaluation of their own talent by general manager Ryan Pace’s front office.

Struggles for this group were predictable this year even before the James Daniels injury that really hindered it, and the Bears did little to address it before the season other than the addition of Germain Ifedi at guard.

It was obvious after last season the Bears had to get better at both tackle spots, and addressing it with nothing more than a seventh-round pick and undrafted rookie free agents was not the answer.

Positives: Although it still seems likely Daniels’ ceiling is much higher at center than it is at guard, his guard play was much improved this year, and he was playing at a high level when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Week 5 win over the Bucs.

Undrafted rookie free agents Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars, teammates at Notre Dame, both emerged as quality NFL starters over the second half of the season.

Mustipher strictly is a center, so it’s possible with a healthy Daniels the Bears have only three interior positions for those two – Cody Whitehair and Bars – but suddenly the Bears’ front is deep on the inside.

Offensive line coach Juan Castillo and company did an impressive job of adjusting the running game to more of an outside zone-read scheme during the bye week and turning a liability into a strength during the season.

Negatives: Charles Leno demonstrated once again why he’s not good enough at left tackle. His play did stabilize the second half of the season, but he is neither physical enough nor athletic enough to handle top edge rushers, and he had far too many concentration lapses and key penalties.

Bobby Massie actually may be a bit underrated at right tackle, but for the second season in a row he couldn’t stay healthy, missing eight games after missing six last season.

Pass protection was an issue all season, and even with the improvement in the running game, the Bears often needed two or even three tight ends on the field to get everybody blocked.

Defining moments: After an interception from the defense with nine minutes to play against the Lions, a 10-point lead and a chance to put the game away, on second-and-1 at the Lions’ 37, Leno got a holding penalty, nullifying a first down run from David Montgomery. The Bears were forced to punt three plays later.

On the next possession with 5:30 to play at the Lions’ 49 and still leading by 10, on third-and-4, Leno whiffed on Everson Griffen, who sacked Mitch Trubisky, and the Bears were forced to punt.

After the Lions scored to make it 30-27 Bears, with 1:46 to play at their own 17, Ifedi whiffed on Romeo Okwara, who came around the edge and strip sacked Trubisky, who never had a chance to see him coming, the Lions recovered, scored and stole the win.

Contract status: Ifedi is the only free agent among the top eight O-linemen.

Leno and Massie both are nearing the ends of their second contracts with reasonable cap hits for starting tackles, but with the Bears’ cap problems, both could be – perhaps should be – cap casualties with the Bears able to save about $6.5 million against the cap for each player, if they cut them.

Hub’s grade: C-

Although in-season improvements were impressive, the failure to adequately stock the tackle positions coming into the season, and the fact that Nagy and Castillo only went to Mustipher and Bars out of necessity because of injuries and didn’t appear to know what they had in them haunted the offense all season.

Hub’s plan: The Bears should cut Leno and Massie and take a pass on re-signing Ifedi. Trent Williams and Cam Robinson could be interesting free agency targets if the Bears can clear enough cap space to re-sign wide receiver Allen Robinson and chase a tackle, and they should draft the best available tackle in the first round, possibly the first two rounds if they don’t have to chase a No. 1 receiver.