EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Little has gone according to the Bears’ plan on the offensive line this season, and that’s a problem when the plan was shaky from the start.
The latest snag was one that will be difficult to overcome. Left guard Cody Whitehair, who has started all but two games in his seven seasons with the team, left with a knee injury in the second quarter of the Bears’ 20-12 loss to the Giants on Sunday.
That left the Bears to shift right guard Lucas Patrick, who is supposed to be their center, to Whitehair’s spot. It appeared that Patrick had finally wrestled the starting right guard job from Teven Jenkins after a prolonged in-season competition in which they were rotating.
Jenkins hopped back in at right guard.
At no point have the Bears had their original starting lineup from the first day of training camp.
Patrick broke his right thumb in the second practice of camp and is still recovering as he plays. The Bears’ main concern is whether he can snap the ball, which they’ve had him doing in practice but not during a game.
Whitehair, 30, is the team’s second-longest-tenured veteran and highest paid offensive player with a salary-cap hit of $12.3 million this season. He’s under contract through 2024.
Whitehair made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and has made 99 starts for the Bears.
