The Chicago Bears aren’t wasting much time with their offseason plans. They came into 2019 knowing they had three primary objectives on their own roster who had expiring contracts. Which would they keep and which would they let walk? The first answer arrived in fairly short order as the team came to an agreement on a four-year extension with right tackle Bobby Massie.
It’s not a surprise that the big offensive lineman was the first handled. The projected market for tackles this year is not good at all and they Bears won’t be picking in the draft until the 3rd round. The odds of finding a replacement who can match what Massie did this past year are remote. Never mind the fact that he’s made it clear he wishes to stay.
🔐 down for 4 more years! pic.twitter.com/z92mQ1Fyod
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 26, 2019
The Bears & Bobby Massie agreed to a 4-year contract extension, the team announced.
GM Ryan Pace’s statement is pictured below ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dtxhCirOgr
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) January 26, 2019
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Massie turns 30-years old this August so there’s a good chance he has around 3-4 more good years in him barring injuries. There’s no question that 2018 was his best overall season. He allowed just 26 on the quarterback including one sack. Both were far below his career average. It’s clear he’s grown a lot since arriving in 2016 and the addition of offensive line coach Harry Hiestand has no doubt helped him even further.
Having that continuity up front will be a big benefit moving forward for the Bears offense. It also relieves GM Ryan Pace of a possible roster need going into an offseason with limited resources. All in all it was a fairly predictable move, and the right one. Massie may not be a star but he’s dependable, and that’s enough.
