Should Chicago Bears look at this free agent lineman?

The Chicago Bears have a lot of cap space, but they also have plenty of holes on their roster. One big hole could be left guard if the team parts ways with Cody Whitehair. They would save $10M by doing so, which makes the decision much easier.

One name that would be ironic in replacing Whitehair would be Dalton Risner. This would be ironic because Risner followed Whitehair’s path to the NFL from Kansas State. When Risner was coming out, the easy comparison was Cody Whitehair, and he was a second-round pick, just like Whitehair.

Should Chicago Bears sign Dalton Risner?

So, this would just be another time when he comes into the same situation right behind him. Risner moved around a lot at Kansas State, which drew the comparisons, but he played left guard the entirety of his career, whereas the Chicago Bears moved Whitehair around a lot.

Still, the last season of Risner in Denver was not perfect. One critique of Risner is that he has not necessarily improved since his rookie season, and while he has been starter quality, the thought was that he could take that jump. It never happened, although he never dropped off.

In 2022, you could argue that his play did slip a little bit. Still, it is easy to excuse a lot of his question marks due to the Nathaniel Hackett experience that happened in Denver. You could view his fight with a backup quarterback on the sideline in two ways.

One, you do not want a player who is going to be in those situations coming into the locker room. The other idea is that Risner is so passionate that he was still fired up, and embarrassed by the meaningless loss they were suffering on Christmas. Beyond that, his blow-up was essentially the tipping point in Hackett getting canned before the season ended. When a respected lineman goes crazy like that, it is more of a sign of how bad things are, and not a knock him. You probably want that passion here.

Risner has missed just three games due to injury. However, two of them came in 2022, and he will have elbow surgery, although it is not expected to impact him by the summer.

Over The Cap has Risner valued at about $6M which would be a deal. When you think of Whitehair and his salary, the could sign Risner, potentially overpay him by a million or two, and still save money in the long run.

Risner saw his stock get hit because of Hackett, because of his blow-up, and because he now enters free agency with an elbow question. The Chicago Bears have to check things out, but they could be finding a solid starter in situation where they are buying low.