Anybody with half a brain knows what the Chicago Bears will do in the upcoming 2025 off-season. After four games of this season, it is beyond apparent that their offensive line needs a serious overhaul. It has allowed 16 sacks on Caleb Williams. Most of the headaches come from the interior, where Coleman Shelton and Teven Jenkins continue to struggle while Nate Davis is already benched. The former two will be free agents next spring. Davis is almost sure to get cut. This isn’t even accounting for Braxton Jones, who has been inconsistent at left tackle to start the year.
Replacing three spots on the offensive line in one off-season will be a significant challenge. The Bears do have three picks in the first two rounds of the 2025 draft. They could use all of them on that group. However, starting three rookies up front doesn’t seem practical. That is why there is a reasonable chance GM Ryan Poles will go hunting for a proven veteran in free agency. Scouts told Bleacher Report they believe one name stands out above the rest.
G Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys
On a related note, Chicago’s interior offensive line issues aren’t going away anytime soon and could get worse in the offseason seeing as Shelton, Pryor and Teven Jenkins are impending free agents. Also, Davis could be a salary-cap casualty since cutting him would save the club $9.5 million, per Over The Cap.
Don’t be surprised if Ryan Poles goes after one of the best guards on the open market in Martin. The future Hall of Famer might not have a long tenure in the Windy City, but he could help protect Caleb Williams and fill one of the team’s biggest needs.
The nine-time Pro Bowl guard has been a model of consistency during his long tenure with the Dallas Cowboys. Only three times has he allowed more than 20 pressures on the quarterback across his last ten seasons. He has allowed only seven pressures in 173 snaps so far this season. The biggest issue most people will raise with him is his age. Martin turns 34 in November. It is always hard to tell how many great seasons a player has left once he gets to his 30s. Some remain elite to the very end, such as Andrew Whitworth or Bruce Matthews. Others fade away, like Russ Grimm and Tony Boselli. Health is crucial.
The good news is that the Bears have had some good luck gambling on older elite guards. Ruben Brown was 32 when he joined them in 2004. He made a Pro Bowl and helped them reach the Super Bowl in 2006. Though the team was bad, Josh Sitton, who was 30, was an excellent addition in 2016. If Martin is healthy, he would be a perfect short-term solution to the team’s right guard problem. It would allow Poles to focus his draft resources at left guard and center. Caleb Williams would be in far better shape under those conditions.
