When running back David Montgomery was asked about the impact of the revamped offensive line following the Bears’ 36-7 rout of the Texans on Sunday, the first — and only — player he mentioned was the most unheralded: center Sam Mustipher.
“Sam coming in and leading the charge, that’s big,” Montgomery said. “He came in the same year as me [2019], you’d think he has been in the league 10, 11, 12 years the way he coaches out there. He just takes charge. He’s the general on the line and they believe and buy in.”
An undrafted free agent who spent all of last season and the first five games of this season on the Bears’ practice squad, Mustipher seemed like a stop-gap when he filled in for starter Cody Whitehair — who was injured and on the reserve/COVID-19 list — against the Rams and Saints.