By Associated Press
Newly acquired Frank Omiyale was named the Bears starting right tackle by head coach Lovie Smith. The Bears lost John St. Clair to a three-year, $9 million free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns shortly after their first minicamp practice on Tuesday, and had already lost 2008 starting right tackle John Tait to retirement.
Smith on Wednesday moved newly acquired free agent Frank Omiyale to starting right tackle from backup guard.
The Bears lost John St. Clair to a three-year, $9 million free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns shortly after their first minicamp practice on Tuesday, and had already lost 2008 starting right tackle John Tait to retirement.
“I’m not surprised, that’s a part of it,” Smith said about losing St. Clair in free agency. “Some of your players leave. Most of the time it opens up an opportunity for someone else to step in and that’s what we’re looking to.”
St. Clair started at left tackle for the Bears last season and figured to start at right tackle if he returned in 2009, as last year’s first-round draft pick Chris Williams moved into the starting left tackle spot.
Omiyale, a former Carolina Panther, signed with the Bears at the outset of unrestricted free agency and began minicamp at guard while second-year undrafted free agent acquisition Cory Balogh lined up at starting right tackle.
But the loss of St. Clair and one day of minicamp practices prompted Smith to change it up—and he wasn’t in a mood to experiment.
“We’re trying to lock guys in,” Smith said. “He’ll play right tackle right now. It’s hard enough learning a new system playing one position, so we’ll lock him in there for a while and go.”
Balogh moved back to second-team tackle with the switch.
Omiyale appreciated the extra time he’ll have to get ready at the new spot, especially since he started only one NFL game with Carolina. That was on the left side and not at right tackle. He did play right tackle in preseason games.
“I’ve got to get the whole offense down, period, but just switching my mechanics from the left side to the right side, that’s the biggest thing,” he said.
Omiyale, a 6-foot-4, 310-pounder from Tennessee Tech, was cut after being drafted by Atlanta in the fifth round in 2005. He went to Carolina and last year played in 10 games for the Panthers, including an Oct. 5 start against Kansas City in which the Panthers ran for 205 yards in a 34-0 victory.
“We knew we had flexibility with Frank,” Smith said. “He’s an athletic guy, eager to learn, and of course (offensive line coach) Harry (Hiestand) will do a great job with him. So this was an easy decision.”
The Bears could also add help at tackle in free agency or next month’s NFL draft.
“We’re always looking to improve our ball club, whether its free agency,” Smith said. “Right now, of course, we have the draft coming around, too. We need to get our numbers up with the offensive line right now because you can see we don’t have a lot of guys.”
Omiyale finds working with veteran players like Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz and right guard Roberto Garza a huge benefit.
“There’s a bunch of characters on this line, so they’re making it easy to not even think of work, just having fun and keep doing our jobs,” he said.
The non-contact minicamp drills conclude Thursday for the Bears, who have been able to avoid injuries to this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment