While the Chicago Bears' monstrous defense most deservedly drew praise throughout a turnaround 2018 season, the offense also found surprising success.
Much of that offensive success came due to an offensive line that was better than expected and offensive tackle Bobby Massie was a big part of that.
Going forward, Massie will remain a big part of the Bears' plans as the team announced Saturday morning that it had re-signed Massie to a four-year contract extension through 2022. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport added that, per a source informed of the situation, the deal is worth more than $8 million per year.
"Bobby has been an important part of our offensive line the past three years and has shown steady improvement during that time," Bears general manager Ryan Pace said in a statement. "Bobby has a tremendous work ethic and has displayed the kind of toughness and consistency we want in our players. More importantly, he is a great teammate and we're excited to keep him in the fold."
Massie, 29, has started all 46 games he's played for the Bears across his three-year tenure with the squad, establishing himself as a mainstay in the trenches for the team. Prior to that, he played four seasons for Arizona.
En route to winning an NFC North title and making the playoffs, the Bears saw Massie start all 17 games this season. Up front, the Bears' line allowed only 33 sacks, which tied for third-fewest in the NFC and allowed Chicago quarterbacks to set a franchise record with a 67.2 percent completion percentage.
Massie helped anchor an offensive line that allowed just 33 sacks in 2018, tied for the third fewest in the NFC. He and the rest of the offensive line helped Chicago's quarterbacks set a franchise single-season record with a 67.2 completion percentage while the Bears' offense averaged 26.3 points per game, fourth best in the NFC, and scored 24 or more points 11 times, the most since 1995.
On Friday, the Bears drew some notice when they invited a batch of kickers to try out and presumably give Cody Parkey some competition. Chicago signed Redford Jones in a somewhat surprising move, especially given how early in the offseason it is. But as Saturday proves further, the Bears aren't hibernating this winter and are very much working toward next season already.
