Saturday, January 26, 2013
Bears' free-agent OT targets
By Tom Carpenter
If the Chicago Bears are going to make a serious playoff push in 2013 under new coach Marc Trestman, they will have to make some improvements to their offensive line. There are plenty of quality offensive tackles who will become free agents this offseason, but landing one of them will either be unlikely or risky.
While quarterback Jay Cutler would love to reunite with Ryan Clady, the Denver Broncos have made it known they will do their best to keep him. The Bears may have trouble extracting other tackles like the New Orleans Saints' Jermon Bushrod, the Cincinnati Bengals' Andre Smith and the Minnesota Vikings' Phil Loadholt away from their current teams, too.
Other guys like Jake Long, Sebastian Vollmer and Sam Baker carry health concerns.
One tackle that ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson thinks the Bears could target and land, depending on how things play out under the Kansas City Chiefs' new regime, is Branden Albert:
Jeff Dickerson
Bears free agency preview: OT"Albert has stated publicly he wants to stay in Kansas City, but a lot can happen whenever an NFL franchise goes through a regime change like the one taking place in the Chiefs organization. If Albert is available, the Bears should have all the necessary information to make an informed decision given the fact general manager Phil Emery spent three years in the Kansas City with Albert."
