Post by lklrlolnlilklsox on Feb 13, 2020 15:41:33 GMT -6
At the time (last offseason), Massie had spent 3 years with the Bears as RT. He struggled at first but then gradually and steadily improved as time went on. He was also very very durable--think he had missed only 1 start in 3 years. By the time last offseason arrived, he was the best OT slated to hit FA (yes, I know he's no star but prime-age, injury-free starting OTs don't tend to reach FA very often).
So, I get why Pace chose to extend him at the time, especially considering the team had very little draft capital to work with in 2019.
You're right that last season's results have made that decision look questionable. The whole OL struggled, Massie included, and then he suffered his first significant injury in almost 4 years.
Fortunately, this years draft class is considered very deep at OT so Pace MUST DRAFT ONE DAY 2 IMO and he also has Bars and Coward to take a look at for RT this summer. Massie will be in that mix too because, as Biggs pointed out, he's uncut-able right now. That will give the team 4 players (Bars, Coward, Massie, & draftee) to look at for RT--best man wins.
That's where we are at.
Coward definitely looked to me like a guy who would make a better T than G, but he doesn't fire out of his stance fast enough for either role at this point. Bars was very intriguing and never looked out of his element in the PS, less than a year after major knee surgery.