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Jordan Mills missed practice on Wednesday. While that news is minor and matters little, what was intriguing was that Kyle Long replaced him at right tackle. This will further fuel speculation that Long could bump Mills from the starting line and fortify the tackle position.
That idea is a tremendous one, and it’s excellent to see John Fox taking a look at it. Mills is coming off an atrocious season where he was one of the worst rated tackles in the entire league. While the Chicago Bears are going to give Mills a chance to regain his 2013 form, they need a plan in case he is unable to do so. If Mills stumbles, moving Long could be exactly what the Bears plan to do.
Ryan Pace and Fox are not going to give Mills an opportunity to allow defensive linemen to flatten Jay Cutler. Adam Gase is going to focus on improving the pass protection around Cutler and give him more time to throw. When Cutler has time, he makes smart decisions with the football and excels. When Cutler is forced to avoid a rush and react quickly, that’s when he gets himself into trouble.
The Bears don’t have much depth at tackle. If they do move Long, they still have options at guard. If Hroniss Grasu proves he’s ready to play as a rookie at center, the Bears should absolutely start him immediately. Make no mistake about it, Pace drafted Grasu with the plan that he would be snapping balls for the Bears for the next decade. Grasu was the best center in college football the last two years, and being undersized is not going to stop the Oregon product from becoming a staple of the Bears offensive line.
If Grasu wins the center position, the Bears will have to consider moving Will Montgomery to guard. Montgomery was signed on as a center, but he has experience playing guard in the past. He is a solid addition to the offensive line and is too good to spend time backing up Grasu when the Bears need help in other areas. An offensive line of Jermon Bushrod, Matt Slauson, Grasu, Montgomery and Long would be a definite improvement over last year.
If Montgomery doesn’t work at guard, giving Michael Ola a shot alongside Long would be another possibility that allows Chicago to keep Mills off the field.
Pace and Fox clearly have their own evaluation process and are going to do what they feel is best for the team. The Bears cannot afford to let Mills play this year if he plays at the same level he did last season. This OTA experiment shows that Pace and Fox have the pulse of this team in a relatively short amount of time and are going to squeeze the most production possible out of this current roster.
Bill Zimmerman is a featured writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.
