The Bears are cutting a staple of their offensive line for nearly the past decade. Chicago will be releasing veteran left tackle Charles Leno, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
No matter what Bears fans think of Leno, he far out-performed his draft status. A seventh-round pick back in 2014, he got his first start as a rookie and became the full-time starter at left tackle in 2015. He’s been durable, starting all 16 games in each of the past five seasons for Chicago.
In a follow-up tweet Rapoport describes the cut as a purely financial decision, one which will save the Bears $9MM in cap space when they make it a post-June 1 release. Leno certainly never was a star and caught a lot of flak the past couple yeas in Chicago, but he did make the Pro Bowl in 2018.
The Bears traded up to draft Oklahoma State’s Tevin Jenkins in the second-round this weekend, and Rapoport says they plan to plug him into the left side of the offensive line immediately. The 39th overall pick will be tasked with protecting the blindsides of Justin Fields and/or Andy Dalton as a rookie.
Leno had signed a four-year, $38MM extension with the Bears in 2017. He’ll now hit free agency at 29 and could become an intriguing option for teams like the Colts, who mostly decided to punt on offensive tackle during the draft. Indy currently only has Sam Tevi set to replace Anthony Castonzo, and Colts owner Jim Irsay recently hinted they could explore other veteran options.
If Pittsburgh has some smarts they would very smart if they looked into signing him to solidify that line
Because signing a LT that can’t block is a good thing.
incredible seventh round pick; average offensive tackle
I haven’t seen him play, but PFF ranked him above average three of the last four years.
I would have expected Ryan Pace to replace Leno with Letterman.
WOW !!!
That one had me Fallon down laughing !!
Not many teams get a starting LT in the 7th round that starts and makes a pro bowl. Vikes may wanna look into him….Has to be better than some of the crap they run out there on the oline.
Appreciate Leno for what he was. A solid middle of the road OT, that suited up every game. As a 7th round pick he worked his butt off to hone his skill and make some cash. I respect that, plus he always seemed to be a solid dude and teammate. Good luck to him.
In true Charles Leno fashion, he announced his release on Twitter today (5/3) when his release will not occur until June 1st… a false start of sorts.
Post-June 1 cuts get released immediately, it’s just their cap charge stays on until June 1
Actually it is not a false start at all. He was released and is a free agent now and can sign with any other team now, even before June 1.
Steelers would not be able to afford him. They still have salary cap issues.
Bad move just cut Gunn OLB 70 million is another Bad pace move