GM Ryan Pace is a busy man even at this time of year. There are a number of players on the current roster who demand attention for contract extensions. Of course most would assume defensive end Akiem Hicks takes priority but as yet that hasn't happened. So it appears that the front office shifted their focus to another pending 2018 free agent. That being left tackle Charles Leno Jr.
A lot of people might be upset by those numbers. Leno will be making a little over $9 million per year but understand that this is an affordable rate. By comparison Russell Okung got handed over $13 million per year by the Los Angeles Chargers. As of now Leno is making the same as Jason Peters of the Philadelphia Eagles and Duane Brown of the Houston Texans. The key difference being he's 25-years old. Both of them are over 30.
Charles Leno Jr. isn't great but he's good enough
Nobody is going to say that Leno is a budding superstar. He's not. At the same time he's shown enough to be C+ to solid B caliber. That's okay. Why? They have a star-studded interior with Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton. Leno is athletic and steadily improved both his strength and technique over the past few seasons. Sure he'll have his occasional gaffes but most often that's coming against top caliber defenders. He knows his job. It's to keep the quarterback clean. Provided he can do that 85-90% of the time, then the Bears will be fine with him for the future. Never mind the benefits his presence long-term will bring for chemistry sake.
Loading comments...