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Per the Chicago Bears own twitfeed, the Bears have another new offensive face:
LM: #Bears have agreed to terms with former Jets guard Matt Slauson on one-year contract.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) March 29, 2013
Slauson (6'5, 316lbs) comes to the Bears from the New York Jets, and before you get too worried, no, he is not the guard who was responsible for this play (he's actually the one who sealed off his man to the outside):
Slauson has started the last three years, and figures into a position that is currently somewhat of a question mark. Don't believe me, ask Brad Biggs:
The Bears add Slauson to a mix that is thin at guard. James Brown made three starts as a rookie at the end of last season. Edwin Williams is still in the picture. This is a position general manager Phil Emery could target high in the draft. Former first-round pick Gabe Carimi could also be in the mix at guard.
And say, here's a fun tidbit from @EvanSilva over at NBCSports:
New #Bears OG Matt Slauson was @pff's No. 31 guard in '12 among 81 qualifiers. They liked him in pass pro, not run blocking. Just turned 27.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) March 29, 2013
You have to figure that Slauson will stay at his left guard position, so he and Bushrod should hopefully make a formidable combo to keep people off of Jay's back.
Assuming the season starts today, you'd probably be looking at a line from left to right of:
Bushrod - Slauson - Garza - Carimi - Webb
That has the chance to be a much better line than in 2012, which is what Trestman's scheme will need. What say you, Bears fans? Are you happy with this pick?
UPDATE: I would be remiss, as a fan of safety, if I didn't also mention that Slauson was the player with the block that knocked Brian Cushing out with an ACL injury last year:
As you can see, Slauson launches himself at Cushing's knees while Cushing is running towards the play.