{"id":134420,"date":"2022-07-28T12:57:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T16:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=134420"},"modified":"2022-07-29T02:05:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T06:05:46","slug":"chicago-bears-offensive-linemen-show-added-value-right-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/07\/28\/chicago-bears-offensive-linemen-show-added-value-right-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears Offensive Linemen Show Added Value Right Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New Chicago Bears offensive linemen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/ReifRi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Riley Reiff<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/SchoMi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Schofield<\/a> met with the media for the first time following the team\u2019s first training camp practice of the year. Both players were signed within the last week to potentially strengthen the offensive line. It was easily the position group with the most questions surrounding it.<\/p>\n<p>Those have not completely gone by the wayside, for what it\u2019s worth. But Reiff and Schofield both demonstrated one of the many ways they can and will help this team in the 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n<h2>Reiff, Schofield could have big impact on the Bears\u2019 other offensive linemen<\/h2>\n<h3>Adults in the Room<\/h3>\n<p>Aside from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WhitCo03.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cody Whitehair<\/a> at right guard, the Bears projected starting offensive line features no players with more than one year of starting experience including last year\u2019s starter at center, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MustSa01.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Mustipher<\/a>, who is battling for the starting right guard position. It is a group that is in flux and has been ranked accordingly.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/news\/nfl-offensive-line-unit-rankings-tiers-2022\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pro Football Focus<\/a> projects it to be the 31st-ranked unit in the league next season which did not bode well for second-year quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/07\/27\/chicago-bears-biggest-week-1-question-answered-ahead-of-training-camp\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Justin Fields<\/a>\u2019 prospects.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"cthLAwIezw\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/07\/27\/chicago-bears-nkeal-harry-huge-chip-on-my-shoulder\/\" target=\"_self\">Chicago Bears WR Sounds Off: &#8220;I Have a Huge Chip on My Shoulder&#8221;<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Chicago Bears WR Sounds Off: &#8220;I Have a Huge Chip on My Shoulder&#8221;&#8221; &#8212; Last Word on Pro Football\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/07\/27\/chicago-bears-nkeal-harry-huge-chip-on-my-shoulder\/embed\/#?secret=YESsVJnJ34#?secret=cthLAwIezw\" data-secret=\"cthLAwIezw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Right away, Reiff \u2013 who signed a one-year deal worth up to $13 million \u2013 ran drills with the first team. Heading into his 11th NFL season, I asked Reiff if he felt as though his experience in the league gave him a leg up in the competition at left tackle. That is his preferred position.<\/p>\n<p>His answer showed just how much a veteran presence can mean.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m here to help anybody. I\u2019m an open book. We\u2019re just trying to win games, whatever it takes. We\u2019ve got a lot of young talented guys in the room and whatever I can do to help them, I\u2019m on board with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That may be where Rieff\u2019s greatest and most lasting impact shows up, in his ability to help mold at least one out of the trio of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BoroLa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Larry Borom<\/a>, Braxton Jones, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JenkTe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Teven Jenkins<\/a>. Jenkins, a second-round pick last season, was not at practice on Thursday. He was projected to be the starter coming in. But under the new regime, he has to earn it like everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>Borom and Jones manned the tackle spots during OTAs. If even one of them turns into a quality starter, the Bears will be that much better off. That is both now for Fields and in the long run for the franchise.<\/p>\n<h3>A Bit of a Homecoming<\/h3>\n<p>Schofield is from the Chicago area and said that he grew up a \u201cbig\u201d Bears fan. He also made it clear that he just wants to impact winning positively, however that may be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what training camp\u2019s for. Try to go out there and do your best every single day. Try to help the young guys along. Do what you can do to be a good teammate and just see what happens at the end of camp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schofield called the opportunity with the Bears a \u201cdream come true\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;18297&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>Bears&#8217; New Offensive Linemen Bring Vet\u2019s Presence<\/h3>\n<p>Head coach Matt Eberflus could very well declare two of Borom, Jenkins, or Jones as the starters at tackle, and say that Mustipher will man right guard. That does not mean that Reiff or Schofield won\u2019t be making an impact that will be seen on the field in those very same players.<\/p>\n<p>Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said as much during his media availability after Day 2, adding that Reiff has already been doing that when Getsy was asked what kind of player they were getting.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why the Bears deciding to act and improve their front five is not inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>They need to know what they have in Fields. His weapons may not be what most hoped for right now. But, if he can show that he can elevate the talent around him if given time, everyone from the franchise to fans will be very happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Chicago Bears offensive linemen Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield both demonstrated one of the many ways they will help this team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2879,"featured_media":134422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,23],"tags":[7544,9317,1841],"class_list":["post-134420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-bears","tag-chicago-bears-roster","tag-michael-schofield","tag-riley-reiff"],"modified_by":"Josh Buckhalter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}