The Chicago Bears have a little less than two weeks to finalize their initial 53-man roster for the 2024 season, but there is a chance they could move on from one of their former veteran starters — if they find a fit on the trade market.
The Bears are still working to determine their starting lineup and depth spots for their offensive line in 2024, a task made more difficult by Nate Davis’ recent injury troubles. Davis’ absence has forced them to move one of their center candidates, Ryan Bates, to right guard and rotate veteran Matt Pryor between guard and tackle at training camp.
If the Bears can get back to their original O-line plan in the coming days, though, they may not have a compelling reason to retain fourth-year offensive tackle Larry Borom.
Borom — who is in the final year of his $5.5 million rookie contract — has started 23 games at left and right tackle for the Bears over the past three seasons, but his role has diminished progressively since coming into the league as a fifth-round pick in 2022. He played a career-low 411 snaps in 2023, receiving most of his action as an injury fill-in.
Coming in 2024, Borom is vying for one of the depth spots in the Bears’ tackle rotation, but Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler believes he is the one player Chicago “should put on the 2024 trade block this preseason” with tackle needs starting to emerge elsewhere.
“With such heavy assets allocated to younger, starting pieces up front, Borom’s youth and experience could attract teams in need of fresh legs at the position,” Fowler wrote in his August 14 article about each NFL team’s “prime candidate” for the trade block.
Bears Can Save $3.1 Million With Larry Borom Move
The Bears moving on from Borom is well within the realm of possibility this preseason. They have two promising starters in Braxton Jones (left) and Darnell Wright (right) at their tackle positions and have added both Pyror (free agent signing) and third-round rookie Kiran Amegadjie to the mix to give them a stronger overall group for 2024.
Borom is also coming off a rough season in 2023. While he made six spot starts at left tackle and played nine games total, he seemed to regress as a pass-blocker when asked to move from the right (where he played primarily in 2021 and 2022) to the left side. He allowed three sacks, six quarterback hits and 25 pressures on 225 pass-blocking snaps, earning himself his career-worst pass-blocking grade (45.2) from Pro Football Focus.
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