A lot of people still have high hopes for the Hroniss Grasu Bears marriage. Despite a rocky season as a rookie, the young center had shown improvement going into 2016. All signs pointed to him being the starter. Then tragedy struck. During a routine practice at Soldier Field, his foot got caught in the turf and caused him to tear his ACL.
It was brutal timing. That forced the Bears into a tough decision. They chose to move then-rookie Cody Whitehair into that spot to fill the void. Not only did he fill it, but he played it almost like a Pro Bowler. Chicago realized they’d may have just landed their ace in the middle for the next decade. Great for him and the team.
For Grasu though, not great at all. This left the former third round pick in an awkward spot. With Kyle Long and Josh Sitton in place at guard, he’s now relegated to backup duty. Yet even that may not be in the cards for him. The lingering concern with Grasu was his lack of versatility. He didn’t have the size or power for guard coming out of Oregon. It was center or nothing. Now that that’s out of the question? His roster spot is looking dicey.
Hroniss Grasu Bears tenure not looking good
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune had his weekly mailbag. In it he received an interesting question. It involved the idea of moving Whitehair to left guard so Grasu can resume center duties while Kyle Long rehabs. Biggs’ answer was not encouraging for either the present or future of the third-year blocker.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“Grasu suffered a torn ACL in August and the Bears have yet to share with us where he’s at in terms of recovery. Even if Grasu has been cleared to resume football activities (and I don’t know if that is the case), I don’t like this idea. Why move Whitehair on a temporary basis? Yes, he played guard in college but the Bears view him as their long-term center. The old adage on the offensive line is that you want to avoid making two changes to fill one hole.
The Bears like Eric Kush a good deal, signing him to a two-year deal, and I expect him to fill in at guard while the Bears wait for the starters to be healthy and available. I expect Whitehair to remain at center. That’s just my hunch. I don’t think the Bears are hellbent to find a starting spot for Grasu on the line right now, not with the other options they have available. Maybe I’m wrong about that but let’s remember Grasu is coming off a torn ACL.”
Being boxed in
The underlying problem with Grasu is he’s one-dimensional. He’s either a center or a backup center. So what happens if the Bears end up with a player who can play both center and guard? Somebody like Kush. That is the big elephant in the room. Chicago has enough depth at guard to where Kush could easily shift to backup center. Then they have far more flexibility. Something that Grasu doesn’t provide much of.
Maybe GM Ryan Pace and the coaches differ in their thinking. Perhaps Grasu may have more to offer than initially expected. Still, at this point it looks like he’s on the fringe. Not only a one-position player but coming off a bad knee injury. Suffice to his battle to remain on the depth chart is going to be brutal.
