On Tuesday evening, Ryan Poles finalized a deal with the Miami Dolphins. As part of the deal, the Chicago Bears acquired experienced offensive lineman Dan Feeney while only giving up a 2024 6th-round draft pick. Given the numerous injuries affecting the offensive line, this move was a crucial one for the Bears.
Dan Feeney Brings Much Needed Depth And Experience
Dan Feeney played college football at Indiana before getting selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the third round of the 2017 draft. Throughout his time in the league, Feeney has been very consistent, playing a total of 4,160 offensive snaps. Among these, 2,534 snaps were pass blocking, with the remaining 1,625 snaps allocated to the run. Of those 4,160 total snaps he's allowed 149 total pressures in that span with 25 quarterback hits, 105 quarterback hurries, and 19 total sacks. He also kept it pretty clean with 20 penalties committed in the last six years in the NFL. As far as versatility goes, this might be one of Feeney's best attributes. When looking at his positional snap counts since 2017 he has played at both left guard, center, and right guard. Here are the total snaps at each of those three interior spots.
Left Guard: 2,596 snaps
Center: 1,412 snaps
Right Guard: 125 snaps
During the 2023 preseason, Feeney has looked very sharp too. He logged 97 total snaps in the final two games where he gave up just one pressure and it was a QB hurry.
This addition reminds me of when the Bears brought in Lucas Patrick, but this time it's via trade instead of free agency. Both Patrick and Feeney are very versatile players, although aren't bonafide starters on a lot of rosters. They're just quality backup options with starting experience, which will help make the Bears offensive line more consistent. What's really nice about this move is that the Bears are getting Feeney at a low cost. He signed a contract with the Miami Dolphins for $3,250,000 for one year, which includes a signing bonus of $2,045,000, and $3,125,000 is guaranteed in 2023. But for the Bears, they'll only have to pay around $1.205 as the Dolphins already paid out his $2M signing bonus. When you think about his experience and what he brings to the team, it seems like a great move by second-year General Manager, Ryan Poles.
And I have a feeling that Poles might not be done making moves just yet.
