Charles Leno Jr. is a grateful man these days. It’s not hard to understand why. Four years ago it looked like his world might be collapsing. He was a lowly former 7th round pick in 2014 who’d just watched the Chicago Bears endure one of the toughest and most humiliating seasons in recent franchise history. Head coach Marc Trestman was fired, as was the man who’d taken Leno in GM Phil Emery.
Suddenly an entirely new regime was in place led by new GM Ryan Pace. Leno was left to wonder if he’d be out of a job. Thankfully through sheer hard work and some good fortune, the young offensive lineman saved his career. He became the starting left tackle for the Bears offense and soon turned that into a lucrative new contract in 2017. Leno had gone from a late-round flier to a multi-millionaire. The next year he celebrated his first trip to the playoffs by proposing to his then-fiancee.
All in all, it’s been good times for the Bears blocker. That may be why he was so accommodating to the team when they restructured his contract to free up $5.6 million of salary cap. When asked about it by Chris Emma of 670 The Score, he said the money is no longer his priority. It’s all about achieving his final dream. That’s winning the Super Bowl.
“I want this team to be intact,” Leno said after practice Thursday afternoon. “I love the guys we have. We have some great guys. I know the only way you can do that is if you are selfless. Some people have to take less, even though nobody wants to take less. You have to do some things that don’t want to do. That (stuff) comes with the game.”
Charles Leno is a crowning example of the Bears’ new culture
Leno is the latest in a series of examples of players who exemplify the new culture Pace strove to built when he took over. He wanted talented players sure, but also selfless ones who would put the team above themselves. Kyle Long provided another example earlier this year when he graciously took a pay cut to give the team some help, understanding his availability had been a problem the past few years.
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With this move courtesy of Leno, the Bears are in a far more flexible position regarding their salary cap. Expectations are they may use a chunk of it to lock up left guard Cody Whitehair to a new deal. Something that has been rumored to be in the works for the past few months. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it came down the pipe at some point before opening night on September 5th. No doubt Leno will be thrilled whenever it happens.
