Chicago Bears Mailbag: Charting a course to the Super Bowl

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CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 22: Cody Whitehair #65 of the Chicago Bears walks out to the field prior to the game against the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field on October 22, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Bears defeated the Carolina Panthers 17-3. (Photo by Kena Krutsinger/Getty Images) /

@hawkeyes4life1
What is the Oline going to look like when Long comes back?

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It’s not overly complicated. The Bears are set up well at four of their five spots with Charles Leno, James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, and Bobby Massie. The only position that would change is right guard where Bryan Witzmann has filled in for Long since he’s been out. Witzmann deserves credit for really doing a good job the past couple of weeks but given the quality of defenses the Bears will see in the playoffs, they need their best to be available. Getting Long back is big.

@BBobysud588
How likely is it, based on projected cap figures, that the Bears can offer Cody Whitehair and extension in the offseason?

Currently, the Bears are projected to have around $20 million in salary cap space next offseason. They have ways of increasing that if need be. It’s important to remember that there’s still another year left on Whitehair’s rookie contract. So they can afford to hold off on an extension until the 2020 offseason before he hits free agency need be. Odds are he’ll demand somewhere around $10 million per year. By that point, their cap space will be considerably better. Knowing Ryan Pace though, I’d expect he’ll want to get him squared away sooner than later.

@JuanGon1105
The Bears have been relatively healthy this year, but it’s unrealistic to expect this kind of healthy roster forever. Which positions should Pace try to reinforce? And is it realistic for those backups to not be a major drop off from those starters?

The way things look right now if I were the Bears I’d place my focus on two areas: the offensive line and the secondary. Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan are both set to become free agents. Bobby Massie will be a free agent too along with a number of their primary backups like Bradley Sowell and Bryan Witzmann. Those two position groups tend to fall apart rapidly if struck by an injury plague so having them bolstered with depth is vital to future team success.

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@hawkeyes4life1 What is the Oline going to look like when Long comes back?

More from NFL Mocks

@BBobysud588 How likely is it, based on projected cap figures, that the Bears can offer Cody Whitehair and extension in the offseason?

@JuanGon1105 The Bears have been relatively healthy this year, but it’s unrealistic to expect this kind of healthy roster forever. Which positions should Pace try to reinforce? And is it realistic for those backups to not be a major drop off from those starters?

@hawkeyes4life1
What is the Oline going to look like when Long comes back?

@BBobysud588
How likely is it, based on projected cap figures, that the Bears can offer Cody Whitehair and extension in the offseason?

@JuanGon1105
The Bears have been relatively healthy this year, but it’s unrealistic to expect this kind of healthy roster forever. Which positions should Pace try to reinforce? And is it realistic for those backups to not be a major drop off from those starters?