Report: Center Bradley Bozeman released by Carolina Panthers; Will the Chicago Bears show interest?
As free agency nears closer, and the 2024 NFL draft gains more hype; The Chicago Bears will be looking to bolster their roster and look to make a playoff push next season. With the number one overall pick in hand, as well as the ninth, the draft should be a viable source for GM Ryan Poles to add talent to this team.
With plenty of money to spend (63 million) the Bears will also look to add talent through the free agency market. The offense as a whole could look a heck of a lot more different this September, as current QB Justin Fields is still on the market, and new wide receivers across the league become candidates for trade.
One area of need for the Chicago Bears is center, as the offensive line as a whole needs work. This is a draft class with plenty of talent at that position, even in the later rounds. As a result, more and more veteran centers are being cut each day as teams look to get younger and improve their trench game this offseason.
A name that just hit the market is former Panther and Baltimore Raven, Bradley Bozeman. The 29-year old center was cut today and rumors are already swirling about where his next stop will be.
Ian Rapoport was the first to the story this afternoon.
The center market got deeper, as the #Panthers are expected to release C Bradley Bozeman at the start of the league year, sources say.
With 77 career starts, Carolina’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award nominee is a veteran with excellent value. pic.twitter.com/u5eHiXv1rP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2024
As a collegiate athlete, Bozeman won two National Championships as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He’s no stranger to success, and his leadership on and off the field could be a big get for the Bears as they try to continue the changing of the past culture.
Lucas Patrick and Cody Whitehair were very subpar over the past couple of seasons, as center is clearly an area needing major upgrade for the Chicago Bears.
Will the Chicago Bears address the center position in the 2024 NFL Draft, or free agency?
With the amount of picks the Bears currently have, or lack thereof, it’s unlikely they grab a center in the first three rounds at this moment in time. They could wait until the third or fourth round to get a guy like Georgia’s Sedrick Van Pran, or Arkansas’ Beau Limmer, as the top guys Jackson Powers-Johnson and Zach Frazier are likely to be selected early and often.
Signing one may be the likelier outcome. The center free agency class gets deeper and deeper each day, as plenty of veterans such as Mitch Morse and Bradley Bozeman likely be cheap, and with the money the Chicago Bears have, it makes it an easy decision to go that route.
However, Poles has been unpredictable during his tenure here. He even mentioned earlier this week about possibly being cheap during free agency despite the massive amount of cap space they hold.
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