The Bears are signing Coleman Shelton, who spent the last two years as the Rams’ starting center, to a one-year deal.
Shelton is an undrafted free agent from Washington who’s spent his first five years with the Rams, the first three as a backup. He’s expected to compete with Ryan Bates for the starting center job. The Bears traded for Bates, a former Bills player whom they’d chased for years, last month.
Pro Football Focus graded Shelton as the 17th-best center in the NFL last year. Lucas Patrick, the Bears’ center last year, ranked 30th.
Shelton worked under new Bears coordinator Shane Waldron from 2019-20 and with new Bears pass game coordinator Thomas Brown from 2020-22.
The Bears aren’t expected to re-sign Patrick. They cut center/guard Cody Whitehair last month. Guards Nate Davis and Teven Jenkins are expected to flank the center.
