Bears general manager Ryan Poles earned well-deserved plaudits for not only being in position to acquire Caleb Wiliams with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but for giving Williams a supporting cast that theoretically would remove the burden of having to put a team on his inexperienced shoulders that quarterbacks taken first overall often have.
Poles traded for Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen. He drafted Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick. He signed Pro Bowl running back D’Andre Swift to upgrade the backfield. And coach Matt Eberflus hired an offensive coordinator with play-calling experience — Shane Waldron — to put it all together.
The biggest question mark was the offensive line, which — even with impressive first-round rookie right tackle Darnell Wright — at least shared some of the culpability for Justin Fields’ inability to reach the next level.
With many other pieces in place, the offensive line entered training camp as a huge unknown — tops on the list of factors that could short-circuit Williams’ promising rookie season.
Two weeks into camp, the offensive line is trending in the wrong direction. Left guard Teven Jenkins left practice after calisthenics. Right guard Nate Davis — who had returned to practice Sunday after missing five practices with a leg strain — went to the trainer’s building after individual drills and did not return.
With Wright already out for the third consecutive practice with an undisclosed malady, the Bears practiced Sunday with a makeshift offensive line missing three starters. Jerome Carvin, a practice squad player last season, replaced Jenkins at left guard. Bill Murray, another practice squad player, replaced Davis at right guard. Journeyman Matt Pryor again replaced Wright at right tackle.
How patchwork? The Bears’ first-team line of Braxton Jones, Carvin, Ryan Bates, Murray and Pryor had a combined 11 starts last season. The second-team line of Larry Borom, Ja’Tyre Carter, Coleman Shelton, Doug Kramer and Jake Curhan had 29.
Not surprisingly, Williams had one of his most unimpressive days of camp — not even a highlight play to distract from an otherwise notably uninspiring practice.
Even when Shelton moved to center and Bates replaced Murray at right guard in the two-minute drill at the end of practice, the offense fizzled. Williams was virtually sacked, fumbled a shotgun snap and scrambled, then handed off to Roschon Johnson for a run up the middle.
The offense was given a second chance and wasn’t much better. Williams threw a short pass to DJ Moore, was sacked by pressure from Gervon Dexter, threw incomplete on third down, with linebacker T.J. Edwards nearly intercepting, and threw an incomplete pass to end it.
It’s still just early August. And Eberflus indicated Saturday that the line would be in mix-and-match mode for now. But the offensive line situation bears watching. Eberflus, who addresses the media every other practice, was not available to provide details on Davis and Jenkins leaving practice. Almost everyone is day-to-day in Eberflus’ training camp until they aren’t.
But Williams at quarterback complicates matters. Eberflus said last week he still plans to get Williams 45-55 preseason snaps, but he also knows it would not be prudent to play the future of the franchise behind a makeshift offensive line that has limited snaps together.
It could become dicey for Eberflus and Waldron if the offensive line injuries linger. After a day off Monday, the Bears have three more practices before playing the Bills on Saturday at Highmark Stadium. The Bears have a cross-over practice against the Bengals next week, with the starters unlikely to play in the Aug. 17 game against the Bengals at Soldier Field. The final preseason game — against the Chiefs on Aug. 22 at Arrowhead Stadium — has become a showcase for backups.
Getting Williams those 45-55 snaps could be tricky. Only one thing is certain — the offensive line has to get healthy in a hurry.
