The Chicago Bears made a lot of moves this offseason to help their roster improve. Some major. Some minor. One that was forgotten relatively fast by fans was when the team secured former Green Bay Packers tackle Jason Spriggs in free agency. It isn't a big surprise. He only signed for $825,000 for one year. Why should people view him as anything more than depth?
This is where context is required. Getting Spriggs that cheap is purely a business decision. It isn't necessarily indicative of a team's true intentions. A few things to remember. GM Ryan Pace has liked the tackle for years. Rumors were he wanted to draft Spriggs back in 2016 but was undercut by the Packers who traded up to get him.
The guy is still just 26-years old and hasn't lost his high-end athleticism. His problems in Green Bay were mostly about inconsistent fundamentals. From how new offensive line coach Juan Castillo talked about him, it makes one think the Bears have higher hopes than normal for his future with the team.
“We’re very fortunate in having a guy like Jason Spriggs come here,” Juan Castillo said. “You say, ‘Well, what does a second-round draft pick mean?’ What that means is he’s got some God-given ability. That’s why he got drafted that early. Now, he’s here and it’s my job to get him to be productive, to get him to play fundamentally sound.”
Jason Spriggs is in a stronger position than you'd expect
Something to remember here is the depth chart. Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie remain the unquestioned starters at tackle. Whether that continues in 2021 is up for debate. Neither played all that well last season. If that trend continues this year, then it's quite possible the Bears will move on from both next spring. That wouldn't be advisable unless they had some sort of plan in place to do so.
This is where Spriggs' presence is so interesting. Looking at the roster, he is the unquestioned #3 offensive tackle. The guy who would be first up to replace either if they got hurt. That tells you the team thinks highly enough of his ability to trust him in that spot. If he takes to Castillo's coaching well, could he end up taking on a bigger role next year?
It feels like that is very much in the cards.
