With his rookie contract up soon, Chicago Bears left tackle Charles Leno Jr. must make a big leap in 2017. Otherwise, he might have to find a new team.

Charles Leno Jr. remains confident that if he keeps working on his game, “everything else will take care of itself” in regards to his improvement at left tackle. For his sake, and the sake of Chicago Bears quarterbacks, he’d better be right.

Entering the fourth and final year of his rookie deal, it’s do-or-die time for Leno as a Bear. And given his uneven performance to date, he can’t really afford to be anything other than good in 2017.

So Far, So…”Meh”

In 29 starts at left tackle since taking over for Jermon Bushrod in 2015, Leno’s play has generally averaged out as mediocre.

On one hand, he wasn’t a complete dumpster fire at left tackle. In fact, he actually improved remarkably from 2015 to 2016. His Pro Football Focus grade jumped from a horrendous 46.1 out of 100 in 2015 to a more respectable (while still not great) 70.4 last year. Plus, PFF also looked favorably on his pass-blocking efficiency, which measured pressure allowed per snap (with sacks weighted more heavily), ranking him third among tackles in the NFL North (26th overall in the NFL).

David Bakhtiari lived up to his new contract and then some last year pic.twitter.com/BNQvLzkZy8 — Pro Football Focus (@PFF) July 4, 2017

However, don’t mistake that for Leno being particularly good.

While Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton formed a formidable interior, their two tackles brought down the play of the offensive line as a whole. Their big three in the middle combined to surrender a total of 30 quarterback pressures last year. Meanwhile, Bobby Massie and Leno allowed 73 pressures and committed 14 penalties by themselves.

Judged on its own, Leno’s play was far from inspiring. Depending on who you ask—keep it consistent, guys!—Leno ranked somewhere from 41st to 53rd (CSN Chicago had him at 44th) among offensive tackles last season according to PFF. Furthermore, while he didn’t surrender a ton of sacks, that doesn’t mean Bears fans should be alright with this:

Charles Leno getting beat like he stole something … Cutler completed this pass btw. #Bears pic.twitter.com/kdEfHGaPgk — ✶ Sports Mockery ✶ (@sportsmockery) September 24, 2016

Oh, and he struggled pretty badly in the run game as well.

Time Running Out for Leno?

Unfortunately for him, the time for “not totally awful” being acceptable has passed. The Chicago Bears need Leno to be good right now.

At age 25, an optimist could say that Leno still has time to round out his game, which he does. For one, he’s added ten pounds to his frame (now up to 310), which could help some as a run blocker. And from a mental standpoint, he hopes to play more instinctively this year than he has in the past. With almost two full seasons of starting experience, perhaps he can make another leap as the game continues slowing down for him.

If that doesn’t happen, Leno may not be a Bear next season.

Given the Bears’ aspirations in the near future, they need their answer at left tackle sooner, not later. I believe that Ryan Pace expects this roster to realistically contend for the playoffs within two years. As such, this season will essentially be a glorified audition to determine who gets to stay here when the Bears are good.

As such, while he hasn’t been abjectly horrible, the actively rebuilding Bears won’t have patience with Leno forever. Whether that means Ryan Pace drafts someone like Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey—the early favorite for top tackle prospect—and lets him walk, signs a free agent or moves Leno back to the right side (bye, Massie), he will not be protecting any Bears quarterback’s blindside after next year unless he plays like a top-25 tackle.

If Leno wants to be a part of what could be a bright Chicago Bears future, he needs to answer the bell in 2017 all year long. If he doesn’t, then he very well could be looking for a new job soon.