Chicago Bears offensive line among NFL’s cheapest in 2022

The Chicago Bears’ offensive line is viewed as one of the team’s biggest question marks entering the 2022 season. Simply put, it’s unsettled. Several starting jobs remain up for grabs, and the candidates competing for them don’t have a long resume of success in the NFL.

General manager Ryan Poles didn’t completely ignore the unit during the offseason, however. He used free agency to sign a new starting center in Lucas Patrick, and he used four draft picks — albeit day-three picks — on offensive linemen. But if the Bears’ offense comes undone in 2022, the lack of any significant Investment in the line will likely be the reason.

The Chicago Bears will begin the year with one of the least expensive offensive lines in the NFL, ahead of only the Pittsburgh Steelers, who rank dead last despite signing former Bears guard James Daniels in free agency. The Bears ranked 29th in offensive line spending in 2021.

Cheapest Offensive Lines in the NFL:

29. Seattle – $28.9 million
30. Miami – $27.4 million
31. Chicago – $27.3 million
32. Pittsburgh – $23.7 million

— Sharp Football Analysis (@SharpFBAnalysis) July 17, 2022

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Chicago Bears offensive line is cheap because it’s young

Numbers — and salaries — can be deceiving. One of the reasons why Chicago’s offensive line is so cheap is that the pair of likely starters at tackle will be second-year players. Larry Borom and Teven Jenkins were selected in the second and fifth rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft. And even if rookie Braxton Jones unseats one of them to start, his contract will pay just $779,000 in the first year of his deal.

Left guard Cody Whitehair is the Bears’ highest-paid offensive lineman. His salary cap figure in 2022 is $12.3 million. Patrick, who ranks as Chicago’s second-highest paid lineman, has a cap hit of just $2.6 million this year. Jenkins is third at $1.9 million. They’re the only three offensive linemen on the team whose salary cap figure is more than $1 million in 2022.

Poles took a conservative approach to his first offseason on the job. In many ways, it was the responsible thing to do. He set the Bears up for a huge 2023 free-agency period, Chicago should have the most money to spend. But there’s still a 2022 season that needs to be played. And with a young quarterback who needs to build confidence for a bright future, rolling with a cheap offensive line is a risky gamble.