Windy City Gridiron
How much were the teams in the conference championship games willing to spend on their offensive lines?
The Chicago Bears struggles’ on the offensive line are well-documented, and they clearly contributed to the problems the team has faced through at least two general managers and a number of offensive coordinators not worth counting. However, with new head coach Ben Johnson supposedly seeking “alignment” with Ryan Poles over the importance of the unit, that might change. So, what does it take to build a championship-caliber offensive line? It’s worth looking first at the Bears and Lions as a frame of reference and then comparing these units to the four teams that made the conference championship games.
Chicago Bears (5-12): The Chicago Bears spent another season watching the Super Bowl instead of playing in it, and regardless of whatever else might be true, they struggled on their offensive line. They allowed more sacks than any other team in football and their rushing attack was weak, at best. They also had the cheapest offensive line in football, per Spotrac, with less than $16mil AAV going to winning the line of scrimmage on offense. It showed.
Detroit Lions (15-2): By contrast, In 2024, the Lions had just under $82mil AAV invested in their offensive line, and after all of the maneuvering, it represented just over 20% of their annual cap last year. Chicago’s new head coach benefitted from an offensive line that was expensive, even with Penei Sewell on his rookie contract. On that note, Detroit actually drafted three of their starters in the first round, so their line represents a consistent investment in terms of draft capital as well as cap space.
What about the teams that made the conference championship games, though? Can any lessons be learned from how they invested (or didn’t) in winning at the line of scrimmage on offense? Here are the teams in question in ascending orders of investment.
Washington Commanders (12-5): The Commanders tied up 13% of their 2024 cap in their offensive line, and they spent around $50mil in AAV. The line was a mixture of lighter veteran contracts and rookie deals at the tackles with two major investments on the inside of the line, but the line was still in the middle of the league in terms of cost, and three times as much in AAV as the Bears spent, and three times .
