More Bears Tight End Help Possible

The Bears finally appear to be more serious about building up the roster at a position they neglected earlier in free agency.

They brought veteran tight end James O'Shaughnessy in for a Monday visit at Halas Hall, according to a report by the Tribune's Brad Biggs.

O'Shaughnessy has never been a great NFL success as a receiver but he is a player with ties to the city and to Bears GM Ryan Poles.

O'Shaughnessy played high school football at Naperville North and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015 while Poles was in the KC front office.

The career in Kansas City didn't take off for O'Shaughnessy as he was traded to New England after the 2016 season for a sixth-round draft pick, then was waived by the Patriots.

The Jacksonville Jaguars picked him up off waivers in March of 2019 and he played there for the last three years.

O'Shaughnessy has never been a huge part of the passing game in Jacksonville, as he has never had more than 28 receptions or 38 targets in a season and for his career has just three touchdown catches.

In seven seasons, O'Shaughnessy has 122 receptions for 1,108 yards and a 9.9-yard average per catch.

As a blocker, O'Shaughnessy has been above average. He had a 60.7 run-blocking grade and 73.7 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus last season. The 73.7 pass-blocking grade was the 14th best in the league.

In a sense, O'Shaughnessy was coming off his best season as a receiver last year. His 24 receptions came in only seven games at Jacksonville. His rate of catches per game was 3.24, the highest of his career.

The Bears have signed tight end Ryan Griffin already, and already had retained veteran Jesper Horsted to team with third-year starter Cole Kmet.

They have also been looking at the college tight crop closely and had Maryland tight end Chigoziem Okowko in for a visit at Halas Hall.

It may sound like excess to devote such attention for one position but the Bears had five tight ends who played last year: Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham, J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted and Jesse James. They didn't bring back James, Graham or Holtz in free agency and did keep Horsted. So if they're going to get through a full season they'll need at least four or five available.