Where do the Bears need better offensive depth in 2019?

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The Bears are, for now, bringing back all 11 offensive starters from their 2018 NFC North-winning team after re-signing right tackle Bobby Massie last weekend. The Bears hope that continuity, coupled with a quarterback entering his second year in an offensive system, will lead to significant strides made by this offense in 2019, as colleague John “Moon” Mullin laid out earlier this week.
 
But focusing merely on the 11 starters returning might lose sight of a critical question for 2019: How the Bears will handle losing one or more of those players for some period of time. The Bears were lucky to only have three offensive players land on injured reserve last year, with two of those guys returning during the season (Adam Shaheen and Kyle Long). For all the success coach Matt Nagy, head trainer Andre Tucker and the Bears’ entire training staff had at keeping players healthy, there was an element of luck to it.
 
“It's tough because I think there is a little bit of good fortune that comes your way, no question,” general manager Ryan Pace said. “But I think we're doing things right now that helped put us on the right track. I really like where we're at in the weight room, in the training room and again what we're doing with our schedules.”
 
Still, every team’s depth will be tested, and the ones that handle those tests well are usually the ones that wind up in the playoffs — or even the Super Bowl. Look no further than the Los Angeles Rams, who managed to reach the Super Bowl after losing receiver Cooper Kupp just after the halfway point of the season and benching an ineffective Todd Gurley in the NFC Championship.
 
The Bears’ ability to handle losing starters in 2018, though, was somewhat of a mixed bag.
 
Mitch Trubisky
 
Games missed: 2
Replaced by: Chase Daniel

 
Trubisky missed two games with a shoulder injury, with the Bears cautiously handling their starting quarterback and handing the offensive reigns to Chase Daniel for road dates against the last-place Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
 
Daniel was good against the Lions, completing 27 of 37 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers in a 23-16 win that ranked among the most significant of the 2018 season. He was sloppy a week later, though, throwing a game-opening pick-six and fumbling four times against the Giants, though he was able to lead a last-ditch comeback to get that game into overtime.
 
The verdict: Daniel will be back for the second year of his two-year contract, and his extensive knowledge of Nagy’s offense will continue to be an asset as Trubisky begins to learn the scheme’s more advanced aspects. While it was only two games, going .500 with your backup quarterback is generally a good thing.
 
Adam Shaheen
 
Games missed: 10
Replaced by: Dion Sims, different formations

 
Shaheen injured his foot in a preseason game against the Denver Broncos and was on injured reserve for the first 10 weeks of the season, then returned for Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings and suffered a concussion that sidelined him for Week 12.
 
Sims, meanwhile, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. While Sims was ineffective when he played, he and Shaheen were the Bears’ two primary “Y” (in-line) tight ends. The result was, mostly, the Bears using a heavy amount of 11 personnel (three receivers, one running back, one tight end) with Trey Burton lining up in his “U” position. For instance: The Bears ran 295 plays with one tight end on the field on first and 10, compared to 112 with two or more tight ends.
 
Shaheen’s 2018 was mostly a wash, with only six targets in six games with one touchdown (as well as a catch on a two-point conversion against the Vikings). Sims finished his season with a 47.5 grade as a run blocker, and while Shaheen is hardly a finished product as a player, his physicality and run-blocking potential was sneakily missed during the season.
 
The verdict: In theory, replacing a second-year player with a veteran making $6 million should’ve provided the kind of depth the Bears needed. That wasn’t the case, though, and Sims will ultimately be released to clear $6 million in cap space, per Spotrac.
 
The Bears will need to figure out how to improve their depth behind Shaheen at the “Y” while also making sure not having a reliable in-line tight end isn’t detrimental to effectively running the ball.
 
Trey Burton
 
Games missed: 1
Replaced by: Ben Braunecker

 
Speaking of tight ends, Burton’s groin issue was arguably the most significant injury suffered by a Bears offensive player last season. The timing of it was brutal, with Burton starting to feel sore the Friday before the Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles and then waking up Saturday morning to his groin being “completely locked,” as he described it.
 
With only about 24 hours to figure out a solution to Burton’s absence, the Bears’ offense was out of sorts at times and only managed 15 points. Allen Robinson stepped up, but Tarik Cohen only had four touches with the Eagles able to key on him without Burton on the field.
 
Braunecker, meanwhile, caught two passes for 15 yards while splitting his time between the “U” — Burton’s position — and the “Y.”
 
The verdict: Burton played all 16 games in the regular season, but losing him in the playoffs perhaps exposed a weakness in Nagy’s offense. The 11th-hour timing of Burton’s injury certainly impacted things, but it would’ve been worse from a planning standpoint had Burton suffered an injury on the first series of the game. These things can happen, and if Burton does have to miss time next year the Bears will have to have a better answer from a scheme and personnel standpoint.
 
Kyle Long
 
Games missed: 8
Replaced by: Bryan Witzmann

 
Harry Hiestand’s group excelled in pass protection even after Long suffered a foot injury late in the Bears’ Week 8 win over the New York Jets, one that initially seemed to threaten to end his season. Witzmann was durable and serviceable in place of Long, and for what it’s worth Jordan Howard had his best stretch of the season (88 carries, 399 yards) in December with Witzmann playing all but 27 snaps at right guard.
 
Long’s injury history — he’s missed a total of 22 games in the last three years — means the Bears will again need a plan to replace him if need be in 2019 (that is, assuming he’ll be back, though it seems likely he will be).
 
The verdict: The Bears could do worse than Witzmann, who played for Nagy in Kansas City from 2016-2017. If he isn’t brought back, a cheap veteran type similar to him would likely be the option. Hiestand, Nagy and Mark Helfrich deserve credit, too, for making sure the loss of a player as talented and important as Long didn’t have a significantly adverse effect on the offense.
 
Allen Robinson
 
Games missed: 3
 
Anthony Miller
 
Games missed: 1
 
Replaced by: Josh Bellamy

 
The writing was on the wall for Kevin White after he was among the inactives for the Bears’ Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills, one Robinson missed. While White and Robinson played different receiver positions, that White didn’t even dress for a game in which Robinson didn’t play was a fairly damning indictment of the former first-round pick.
 
The Bears, meanwhile, valued Bellamy’s speed and versatility — he’s able to play all three receiver positions in Nagy’s offense — and he made a handful of plays when called upon. He caught a touchdown in Week 4 (the game Miller missed) and only dropped one of his 26 targets, per Pro Football Focus.
 
The verdict: Bellamy’s special teams acumen, offensive knowledge and leadership make him a candidate to be re-signed, with 2018 seventh-rounder Javon Wims in line for an opportunity to compete for an active roster spot, too. The Bears’ receiver depth is fine; improved depth at running back and tight end would help better mitigate losing a starter from this unit in 2019.

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