It appears change is finally coming to the Chicago Bears offensive line. According to ESPN 1000 and NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan, the Bears are shuffling their offensive line for this week’s matchup against the New England Patriots, most notably benching center Sam Mustipher in favor of Lucas Patrick.
Buy Bears TicketsHere is what I am hearing the #Bears offensive line will look like when they start the game Monday night against the #Patriots in New England. LT: Jones LG Schofield C Patrick RG Jenkins RT Borom. Mustipher will be a backup at Guard and Center. #TakeThat
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) October 21, 2022
Kaplan reports Patrick will slide over from left guard to replace Mustipher and veteran Michael Schofield will enter the starting lineup in place of Patrick. The rest of the offensive line will remain the same, with Braxton Jones, Larry Borom, and Teven Jenkins continuing to play left tackle, right tackle, and right guard, respectively.
The change has been a long time coming for the interior of the offensive line. Mustipher took over the starting center position in training camp when Patrick was lost for an extended period of time after suffering a thumb injury. But even when Patrick returned and was deemed healthy enough to play, the Bears stuck with Mustipher, who has surrendered numerous pressures and has struggled at times with penalties and snapping the ball.
Patrick, who had been rotating at right guard with Jenkins, moved to the left side following an injury to Cody Whitehair. But given the struggles that Mustipher and the entire offensive line have had as a whole, a change needed to be made. The Bears are tied with the Washington Commanders for the league lead in sacks allowed with 23.
No official announcement has come from the team and we will likely have to wait until Monday night to get confirmation, but this change at the very least shows the Bears are doing something different that will hopefully result in cleaner pockets for Justin Fields going forward.
