Bears GM alludes to position change for top offensive lineman
Cody Whitehair is a bit of a jack of all trades for the Chicago Bears.
He can play all three interior positions along the offensive line, but general manager Ryan Poles recently suggested that a switch from left guard to center could be in the cards for Whitehair in 2023.
“We’re going to put the best front five up there, but I also think there’s some flexibility and some conversations where Cody could work some center,” Poles told reporters on Thursday. “He’s got almost 4,000 snaps there. Had some good seasons there. So we’re going to move it around a little bit and see if we can get the best front three possible.”
Whitehair’s lone Pro Bowl come in 2018 when he played center. That year, he allowed 11 pressures, 11 hurries and just one sack while playing 1,139 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
He spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons splitting time at center (1,051 snaps) and left guard (960 snaps) before witching to left guard full-time in 2021.
Gone are Sam Mustipher, Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield III. Mustipher was Chicago’s starting center in 2022, while Reif saw time at right tackle and Schofield III split time at both left and right guard.
Should Whitehair slide over to center, it’s expected the Bears will roll with an offensive line combination of Braxton Jones at left tackle, Larry Borom at right tackle, Nate Davis at left guard and Teven Jenkins at right guard with Lucas Patrick rotating between backup center and guard.
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