The wheels have fallen off the Chicago Bears' 2022 season pretty quickly. Not only are they 3-9 and currently slated to pick second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, they're also getting ravaged by injury to key players at critical positions.
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney is out for the year with a left ankle injury. Quarterback Justin Fields missed Week 12 with a left shoulder injury and his status for Week 13's game against the Green Bay Packers remains in doubt. It's likely more doubtful now that starting and backup right tackles Riley Reiff (shoulder) and Larry Borom (ankle) might be sidelined with injuries of their own.
Sometimes, the best thing to come from a season like the Bears are having is the emergence of a young player in the final month of games. That opportunity may be presenting itself for offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, the former 2021 first-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders, who the Bears claimed off waivers over the summer.
“All combinations are up,” coach Matt Eberflus said of the offensive line Monday. “Obviously we've had multiple combinations this year, as you guys know."
Will Teven Jenkins move to offensive tackle?
Is Teven Jenkins, the Bears' second-round pick in 2021, an option to slide outside to tackle?
"We'll see where that goes, but we're pretty comfortable with him playing guard," Eberflus said. "So we'll see.”
That leaves Alex Leatherwood as the most appealing and exciting option, both for the final five games this year and projecting forward into 2023. At just 23 years old, a late-season emergence from Leatherwood would be a boon for the Bears and allow them to focus on filling their needs on defense in free agency and the NFL draft.
Leatherwood played 257 snaps at right tackle in 2021 but converted to guard in Week 6 and enjoyed more success as an interior player. He was drafted as an offensive tackle prospect, however, and, perhaps, can realize his potential on the outside with Chicago.
The unstable offensive line situation could lead to another week of rest for Fields. Even if he's feeling better, putting him back into the lineup with a third-string right tackle isn't exactly good strategy.
We'll know more about the health of Reiff and Borom later in the week, but if they're anything less than 100%, it's time to see what Alex Leatherwood brings to the table.