Sam Mustipher, like the rest of the Chicago Bears‘ offensive line, is having a rough start to the season. The second-year o-lineman has struggled mightily so far in both run blocking and pass protection, allowing five pressures and a sack in his first three games.
While it’s early and things could certainly improve, Mustipher has looked out of his league at some point in every game this season, and he often is overwhelmed by blitzing defenders:
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report has named one player on all 32 NFL teams in need of benching, and he named Mustipher as the logical choice for Chicago. “Most clubs cannot afford to give underperforming talent a chance to bust out of a slump lasting this long. They instead need to shake things up,” Kay wrote on September 29.
Kay has a point — but should the Bears give up on the young center so soon?
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The Bears Could Use an Upgrade at Center
Mustipher went undrafted in the 2019 NFL draft, but he made Chicago’s practice squad and spent the entire season there that year. He wound up back on the Bears’ PS again in 2020, but a season-ending injury to offensive lineman James Daniels resulted in his elevation to the active roster Week 6.
Mustipher played 504 snaps last year, allowing a sack, one QB hit and 10 pressures. He earned a 58.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Perhaps most impressively, considering Chicago’s penchant for penalties on the offensive line, Mustipher had just one flag thrown his way in the eight games he played in. That said, he’s got a very weak 38.3 overall rating from PFF so far this season, and he seems to be regressing.
Considering Chicago has a tad of flexibility on the o-line, though, if Mustipher’s bad play continues much longer, sitting him may be necessary.
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Could Alex Bars Be an Option?
“It’s clear the line has multiple issues, but the biggest problem is at center,” Kay wrote. “Sam Mustipher has looked downright lost at times, earning a 38.3 PFF grade over 179 snaps. He’s given up a sack and has been manhandled by opposing linemen, resulting in collapsed pockets and little room for Chicago’s backs to work. Expect head coach Matt Nagy to make some major changes soon, one of which should be giving backup Alex Bars a chance to fulfill the center duties.”
Cody Whitehair, who had been the team’s starting center prior to Daniels’ injury last year, moved over to left guard and Mustipher began taking the snaps at center. While that has continued into this season, it’s not exactly working. Whitehair or Bars, who came up with Mustipher as an UDFA out of Notre Dame, could take over at center if things continue to go South.
Bars is versatile on the line, earning an overall grade from PFF of 55.6 last year. He played 83 snaps at left guard, 408 snaps at right guard and 77 snaps at center in 2020. Whitehair has far more experience playing center than Bars, though, and if the Bears do make a change, moving to him over Bars and then utilizing Bars or Elijah Wilkinson as LG makes the most sense.
Chicago should wait before doing anything too rash this early, though — especially if OC Bill Lazor is taking play-calling duties away from head coach Matt Nagy. The Bears haven’t announced that that’s the case, but it has been heavily implied by insiders, so we’ll see what happens.
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