The Chicago Bears are continuing to beef up the offensive line with versatile depth pieces in free agency.
On the same day that the Bears' trade to acquire offensive lineman Ryan Bates becomes official, the Bears are also expected to sign offensive lineman Matt Pryor to a one-year deal, a source told Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain.
The Bears' front office is serious about fixing the depth concern on the offensive line and these two additions will be a major aspect toward fixing that issue immediately.
Pryor spent the 2023 season with the San Francisco 49ers and appeared in 15 games for the NFC Champions. Pryor did not make an official start, but played 26 percent of the team's offensive snaps in the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams with the number one seed in the playoffs already secured.
The 29-year-old offensive lineman played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts prior to the 2023 season after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Pryor has prior experience playing four of the five positions on the offensive line, the only position he hasn’t logged snaps at is center. In his five year career, Pryor has played 435 snaps at left tackle, 60 snaps at left guard, 766 snaps at right guard, and 683 snaps at right tackle. According to Pro Football Focus, Pryor had a career-high 88.6 offensive grade in 2023 but had a career-low 46.9 grade during his last season as a starter in 2022 with the Colts.
Given his ability to play multiple positions, Pryor will become an important depth piece to have on the offensive line alongside Bates in case any injuries occur to the unit up-front like what happened during this past season.
Pryor crossed paths with Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus during his time as the Colts' defensive coordinator and with Bears' assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, who was the Eagles' Director of college scouting when Pryor was drafted in 2018.
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