The Chicago Bears surprised fans this past week when they added veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis on a one-year deal. GM Ryan Poles said he wanted somebody on the offensive side with great leadership and experience to help guide the young guys. Lewis also brought tons of value as a blocker. However, it appears Poles wasn’t finished with the tight end position. Tuesday saw the Bears waive former undrafted free agent Jake Tonges due to an injury, replacing him with William & Mary alum Lachlan Pitts.
This won’t register with most for obvious reasons. At this stage of training camp, Pitts is nothing more than an extra body to fill out the roster. Even so, it belies the truth of things. It’s not like the young man is unworthy of the opportunity. Pitts is a big man at 6’6, 255 lbs. That size was put to good use for the Tribe as he became a standout blocker on offense. He’s physical in the run game and can hold his own against pass rushers. That seemed to be his calling card until his final season when he blossomed as a pass catcher, going for over 500 yards and five touchdowns.
Ryan Poles continues to feed the competition.
The Bears appear set at tight end. Cole Kmet is the starter, with Lewis and Robert Tonyan as highly-capable backups who will see plenty of action. One thing they don’t have is a young developmental option. Tonges was a bust, and Chase Allen isn’t going anywhere. Pitts could fill that void. It’s evident from his tape that he has talent. His blocking speaks for itself, but people often don’t give him enough credit for being a good athlete. With some patience and work, he could become a valuable contributor.
This is another in a long line of moves by Ryan Poles that focus on the long term. Pitts might not be worth much now, but he has the athletic tools to play in the NFL. The GM is trusting head coach Matt Eberflus and his staff to give the tight end the proper instructions necessary to develop. It might be too late for him to make an impression for the 2023 season, but he could easily do enough to set the table for next year.
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Gotta understand that the bottom of the roster is a bunch of guys the coaches are familiar with and who have a little time in the system. Some will be on the practice squad. Others may need to be signed week to week as fill ins during the war of attrition that is the NFL season. So, constantly improving the very bottom of the roster is actually improving your team. Seattle mastered this 10-15 years ago and other teams learned it.
A camp body is not really that interesting. Now if they switched Marcedes Lewis to a swing tackle that would be interesting.
I don’t believe Tonges was a bust. He was a guy that filled in admirably last year, and had some good moments for an undrafted player. He got hurt, that sucks…but far from a bust.
Keep churning the bottom of the roster….
the BEST team’s keep improving… even if it’s a dev’ player. I remember a time when Pace was adding players during preseason that we needed as STARTERS. So this is a welcome change.
Good luck LACHlan.
That’s a lovely story, Erik.
But tell us the name of one player this Bears coaching staff has actually “developed,” to date?
Was it: Pringle? Harry? Ebner? Velus? Cruikshank? Robinson? Kramer? Carter? Pettis? Morrow? Leatherwood?
C’mon man — stop it!