Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
Do you think the Bears will bring in another kicker to compete with Eddy Piñeiro this year or has he already secured the job for the 2020 season?
Danny W.
Midlothian, Illinois
The Bears believe strongly in Eddy Piñeiro after he had a solid first season in 2019, making 82.1 percent of his field-goal attempts (23-of-28). They were especially impressed with how he rebounded from a mini mid-season slump to make his final 11 field-goal tries over the final six games. The team is also confident that Piñeiro will continue to improve as he gains more confidence moving forward. With that being said, general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy both stressed the importance of creating competition at all positions when they spoke at the NFL Combine last week in Indianapolis. With that in mind—plus the fact that most teams generally have two kickers on their roster to share the workload during the offseason—I would expect the Bears to add a second kicker sometime this spring. Whoever that is likely will have an uphill battle to unseat Piñeiro, but the competition should make them both better.
What are the chances the Bears draft another center with one of their two picks in the second round?
Ryan S.
Rockford, Illinois
General manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy both have discussed the importance of improving the offensive line this offseason, so it certainly wouldn't surprise me if the Bears spent one of their first two picks to bolster that area. Of course, it all depends on who's available when they go on the clock. I have no idea where they have center on their list of needs, but if they did draft a center both Cody Whitehair and James Daniels have the position flexibility to play either center or guard, which gives the Bears multiple options. They could potentially slide a new player in at center and flank him with Whitehair and Daniels at guard. Or put the new player at one of the guard positions as well. Coincidentally, Whitehair and Daniels were both chosen by the Bears in the second round of the draft in 2016 and 2018, respectively. So they have a history of addressing the interior offensive line in Round 2 of the draft.
With the release of cornerback Prince Amukamara, everyone seems to assume that either Duke Shelley or Kevin Toliver II will take over the starting role. But what about CFL signee Tre Roberson? Does he have an opportunity to win that job?
Ben C.
I think that Tre Roberson has just as good of a chance to replace Prince Amukamara as Duke Shelley or Kevin Toliver. But I think it's even more likely that the player who will start at cornerback opposite Kyle Fuller this season is not currently on the roster and will be acquired either in free agency or the draft. In terms of Roberson, he's certainly an intriguing young player. He spent the last two seasons in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders, helping them win the Grey Cup Championship in 2018. Last season he recorded seven interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns.
Chalk Talk features fan questions multiple times each week.
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