It looks like Chris Williams wil be the new LT

The Chicago Bears have not made it official with Chris Williams, but barring a new development it appears likely the former first-round draft pick is headed back to tackle.

Williams has spent time at both guard and tackle in the voluntary offseason workout program, according to one teammate, and the composition of the roster makes it clear he’s needed on the outside. The Bears waived unproven tackle Levi Horn on Monday, eliminating another emergency option at the position. Horn spent the last two seasons on the practice squad.

It would appear general manager Phil Emery and the coaching staff have no other option but to play Williams at tackle. The club has plenty of depth on the interior, especially since the addition of Chilo Rachal in free agency last month. When asked about it during the draft weekend, coach Lovie Smith wouldn’t commit to a position for Williams.

Chris Spencer, Lance Louis, Rachal and Edwin Williams all have experience playing guard and that mix provides the team with competition to sort through during training camp and preseason. At tackle, offensive coordinator Mike Tice has J’Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi, the first-round draft pick from last year that the team hopes will be back before minicamp next month. Carimi is still working his way back from surgery on his right knee during the final week of December.

So, healthy bodies right now at tackle -- if you don’t include Williams -- are Webb and undrafted college free agents A.J. Greene of Auburn and Tyler Hendrickson of Concordia. The club lists Troy’s James Brown, another undrafted free agent, at both guard and tackle on the roster. He did a little of both during rookie minicamp. Greene declined an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine in February and also passed on a pro day workout at his school in March because he wanted to start a music career. He since has changed his mind. Hendrickson was a Division II All-American at the school in St. Paul, Minn. That’s a long way from the NFL.

That means Williams is needed at tackle for a number of reasons. First, the Bears have expressed total confidence that Carimi will be back to full strength soon and be the emerging young talent he was last year. But he’s played only 1 1/2 games in the league and it’s impossible to say where he’s at until the pads are on and the action is live. Second, the club needs to push Webb. Tice and Smith have said they believe in Webb, but that doesn’t mean he’s in a position of being able to enter training camp as the undisputed starter. He struggled too much at times last season. Switching Williams back to tackle would allow him to compete for the left tackle job he once had and provide insurance for Carimi. There really isn’t another option unless they suddenly fill the final spot on the 90-man roster with an experienced tackle.

It’s worth wondering if Tice truly would consider Williams as a starter at left tackle. Williams started there for the first two games in 2010 before suffering a hamstring injury. When he returned, he was inserted at left guard in what seemed to be a permanent move. Williams has started 20 career games at left guard, more than anywhere else on the line. He has 11 starts at right tackle and seven at left tackle. The club’s top pick from 2008 -- 14th overall -- is entering the final year of his contract.

The only other option for the Bears could be to consider Louis at tackle again. He started 11 games at right tackle last season but Williams has been the one taking some time at tackle so far, and remember, the club is certain Carimi will be the top talent he was viewed to be a year ago soon.

The upside is Williams must realize there is a lot at stake for him entering this season. He missed seven games last season after the freak wrist injury. He should be at the top of his game and the Bears didn’t have anyone to push the tackles last year with Frank Omiyale as the third option. It will be interesting to see how Tice has the line organized when OTA’s begin next week at Halas Hall.

bmbiggs@tribune.com

LT: CWilliams, Webb
LG: Louis, Rachal
C: Garza, EWilliams
RG: Spencer, Henry
RT: Carimi, Brown

Hard to fathom Cwill moving back to LT after playing LG so well. Plus it's a whole different footwork. I hope it doesn't diminish his productivity to be qualified in two spots to help a questionable player in Webb.

In the way that the article reads, I believe it is writer speculation rather than anything the Bears have said. Doesn't mean it won't happen, but I'd say that it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Yea that article deosn't say that CWill has replaced Webb as the new LT. There may be competition coming his way but Webb is still the LT. And I'm very confident that Webb will not lose that job!

Both the logic and the need are there. We're damn short on OT's and the guys we picked up in the offseason won't be of much help as far as I can see. It would be a miracle if anyone of them did more than simply make the PS with Brown probably as the leading candidate for that.

As much as I dislike moving him again this may actually be the best thing for CWill in the long run. We're jammed with vet players at OG and very short in that department on the outside. Now that he's had an opportunity to adjust himself to blocking NFL style maybe is is time for a move back to his old spot. He wouldn't be the first NFL lineman to have traveled some other roads before he got to his permanent spot.

He was a LT coming through the front door and he's show some ability as a pass blocker when he played there. His weakness was more in his run blocking and he seemed to finally master that as an OG last year. He's also added some strength and bulk since he arrived so I'm all for it. Webb needs to be pushed if he's ever gonna succeed and we need to determine before next offseason just what we have in both of them. One these guys should be able to master LT at this level.

For CWill there's another reason why the switch may be a good move. He's in the last year of his rookie deal and he stands to make a hell of a lot more money on an extension if he can become a starting LT than he ever will as an OG on this team. He's averaged $3.2 mil per year from his rookie deal and he stands to make $4.5 mil this year if he hits all of his bonuses and the only way he can do that is at LT, not OG. On this team we pay OG's about $2-$3mil per year tops and if he expects to do better than that he needs to be playing OT.

Everything I've been reading about the Oline says that the plan is to create intense competition between the vets already on the roster for the starting positions of which there appear to be three up for grabs. Carimi and Garza should be locks at RT and OC. Based on his play last year I don't see Louis as anything more than an emergency option at OT. He was a better option than OMG but his real value is inside. It's like Carimi. Carimi can be an OK LT or a great RT and it's the same with Louis. He's barely acceptable as an OT but he has the potential to be a great OG.

The key is for these guys to stay healthy but an Oline with Webb, Carimi and CWill as the OT's should be fairly solid. With a full offseason of work, new blocking schemes to fit a new offensive concept and the experience of playing together coupled with the competition Tice intends to create I do expect these guys to play better ball than they did last year. Some of these guys aren't without the basic talent they need to play there positions, they just haven't "gotten it" yet. Last year it looked to me like CWill finally "got it" and it showed up in his play. I think he's advanced enough in his game to risk moving him without doing more damage to his progress.

My $.02.

Let the best man win that cmpetition. I hate seeing 1st RD picks that don't pan out. So a part of me would be thrilled if CWill won that starting LT spot and became everything we envisioned when we drafted him.

If C. Williams wants to win the spot, more power to him. I just hope he turns into the stud I think he can be wherever they put him on the line.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

Both the logic and the need are there. We're damn short on OT's and the guys we picked up in the offseason won't be of much help as far as I can see. It would be a miracle if anyone of them did more than simply make the PS with Brown probably as the leading candidate for that.

As much as I dislike moving him again this may actually be the best thing for CWill in the long run. We're jammed with vet players at OG and very short in that department on the outside. Now that he's had an opportunity to adjust himself to blocking NFL style maybe is is time for a move back to his old spot. He wouldn't be the first NFL lineman to have traveled some other roads before he got to his permanent spot.

He was a LT coming through the front door and he's show some ability as a pass blocker when he played there. His weakness was more in his run blocking and he seemed to finally master that as an OG last year. He's also added some strength and bulk since he arrived so I'm all for it. Webb needs to be pushed if he's ever gonna succeed and we need to determine before next offseason just what we have in both of them. One these guys should be able to master LT at this level.

For CWill there's another reason why the switch may be a good move. He's in the last year of his rookie deal and he stands to make a hell of a lot more money on an extension if he can become a starting LT than he ever will as an OG on this team. He's averaged $3.2 mil per year from his rookie deal and he stands to make $4.5 mil this year if he hits all of his bonuses and the only way he can do that is at LT, not OG. On this team we pay OG's about $2-$3mil per year tops and if he expects to do better than that he needs to be playing OT.

Everything I've been reading about the Oline says that the plan is to create intense competition between the vets already on the roster for the starting positions of which there appear to be three up for grabs. Carimi and Garza should be locks at RT and OC. Based on his play last year I don't see Louis as anything more than an emergency option at OT. He was a better option than OMG but his real value is inside. It's like Carimi. Carimi can be an OK LT or a great RT and it's the same with Louis. He's barely acceptable as an OT but he has the potential to be a great OG.

The key is for these guys to stay healthy but an Oline with Webb, Carimi and CWill as the OT's should be fairly solid. With a full offseason of work, new blocking schemes to fit a new offensive concept and the experience of playing together coupled with the competition Tice intends to create I do expect these guys to play better ball than they did last year. Some of these guys aren't without the basic talent they need to play there positions, they just haven't "gotten it" yet. Last year it looked to me like CWill finally "got it" and it showed up in his play. I think he's advanced enough in his game to risk moving him without doing more damage to his progress.

My $.02.

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Got to be right. The front office has been telegraphing this all off-season. Chris Williams is a reasonable to good starting LT in the NLF (depending upon his run blocking) and a reasonable starting LG. Given the Bears need a LT ... and now finally have multiple fairly proven OGs ... it is the obvious way to go. Now, we should all hope that Webb improves so much he actually beats Williams out for the starting spot (because he's signed for an extra year and has less injury history). The loser will make a fine swing tackle as both Webb and Williams have RT and LT experience.

I've been thinking and saying for two years that the worst thing that Tice did as offensive line coach was move Chris Williams to OG from the OT position. Williams did pretty well as a left tackle in the eight or so games that he played. I see no reason why he shouldn't be given one more hack at the position to prove himself and to finally challenge Webb to either shit or get off the pot.