The Bears have locked up one of their key offensive linemen for the foreseeable future. The team announced that they’ve extended right tackle Bobby Massie. It’s a four-year deal that will last through the 2022 season.
“Bobby has been an important part of our offensive line the past three years and has shown steady improvement during that time,” said general manager Ryan Pace. “Bobby has a tremendous work ethic and has displayed the kind of toughness and consistency we want in our players. More importantly, he is a great teammate and we’re excited to keep him in the fold.”
The 29-year-old has been a mainstay on Chicago’s offensive line since joining the organization back in 2016. The former fourth-rounder has started each of his 46 games during his tenure in Chicago, including a 2018 campaign where he appeared in all 16 contests. Pro Football Focus was particularly fond of his performance this past season, ranking him 29th among 80 eligible tackles.
With Massie signed, the Bears will now return each of their five starters from the 2018 season, a grouping that also includes Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, and Charles Leno. Adam L. Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times says Whitehair is one of the next Bears in line to receive an extension.
Massie was set to be one of four Bears starters to hit free agency. Safety Adrian Amos, cornerback Bryce Callahan and punter Pat O’Donnell are still unsigned.
Curious how much bucks?
Oh no. I was really hoping for an upgrade at RT. Maybe there weren’t significantly better options. Still, the guy has been average.
There just isn’t much in the way of quality offensive linemen that can be obtained. This is especially true at the OT position where 35 yr old dinosaurs like Donald Penn can still find a market. Extending Massie is a sensible move otherwise other offensive needy teams like the Bills would poach him quickly.
Without any high picks and not any good free agents out there what upgrade was out there ? Add in they don’t have a lot of cap space what could they do?
There’s nothing better out there
#29 of 80 qualifies as
above average via pro football focus.