Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles is on an offseason heater, completely revamping the trenches in hopes of a swift turnaround for a five-win club under new coach Ben Johnson.
Chicago acquired guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson in trades, agreed to terms with center Drew Dalman, and added edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to big-money pacts.
More than just Bears fans have noticed the moves. Even foes are impressed with what Poles has accomplished thus far this offseason.
On the St. Brown Podcast, Detroit Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown sounded exasperated discussing all the Bears’ big moves.
“I feel like the Bears have unlimited f—ing money,” St. Brown said. “This s— is crazy. They’re just signing new s— for like $40-50 million. Joe Thuney, boom. Jonah Jackson, bang. Drew Dalman, bang. Dayo Odeyingbo, another crazy amount of money. Grady Jarrett, bang. They’re just breaking everybody off. They have unlimited money. What the f— is this? … Ben is just making moves left and right.”
Chicago did enter the offseason with a hoard of cap space, partly due to its quarterback, Caleb Williams, being on a rookie contract and partly because the team has whiffed on its draft picks in recent years, rarely giving out second, big-money deals.
Whereas the Lions inked St. Brown, a fourth-round pick in 2021, to a four-year, $120.01 million extension, the Bears have exactly zero players left on their roster from that draft year.
Most of Chicago’s big-money players were acquired via trade (Montez Sweat, DJ Moore, Thuney, Jackson) or free agency (Tremaine Edmunds, D’Andre Swift). Jaylon Johnson and Cole Kmet are the key home-grown talents given long-term deals.
Poles hopes last year’s draft, highlighted by first-rounders Williams and Rome Odunze, will one day earn big-money extensions. Until then, however, he’ll have money to burn.
Chicago did well in diving into the trenches, bringing in veterans with experience to bolster the club’s weakness. The trajectory under Ben Johnson is clearer than it’s been in years in Chicago.
However, building through free agency is a tricky proposition. There is a reason most players — usually due to age or injury history — are available. Last year, the Bears were praised for bringing in a collection of weapons. That plan didn’t lead to wins. Spending on the trenches is a smarter use of cap space this time, but it needs to pan out in the fall.
