NEWSLETTER
It has been a busy and productive offseason for the Chicago Bears.
Since the 2022 regular season came to an end, Chicago’s football team has brought in an ace receiver, two starting offensive linemen, and depth for the offense. On the other side of the ball, there have been handful of defensive line additions sprinkled in with some extra secondary help. So while the Bears were never going to fill all their offseason needs in one fell swoop, they have checked a bunch of boxes.
And more help could be on the way.
The Bears’ need to find pass-rush help has been no secret. Particularly at defensive end. During an interview with the Bernstein and Holmes Show on 670 The Score, Poles dropped hints that he’s eyeing available players, perhaps even on the trade market:
Ooh, this is juicy!
Poles sounds like he’s trying to hash out a trade for an impact pass-rusher and is simply hedging with the mention of available free agents as a negotiating tactic. We’re probably in the early stages of this process. But it is giving me flashbacks to Poles’ handling of trading the first pick earlier in the spring. And I like it.
Essentially, here’s where I land. At every turn throughout his two years running the Bears, Poles has been transparent regarding his team’s holes and his plans to fill needs. All while not telegraphing his next move. After giving myself an opportunity to step back from the transaction action, it really hit me.
Poles said from Day 1 he wanted to build through the draft. And through two years, he has made 21 picks. And he’s done it while drafting players with a “best available” mentality. Poles made it known in Year 1 that he understood the value of a true WR1 and was looking for one for his quarterback. One year later, he found it in the DJ Moore trade. Speaking of which, remember when Poles was making his intentions known that he was wanting to trade the first overall pick before free agency? Do you also remember when he did it? Yeah, that happened. Those reports about the team’s aggressive plans to rebuild the trenches were also true. The Bears have since brought in two new starting offensive linemen and six newbies along the defensive line.
All that to say this: When Ryan Poles speaks, I’m listening. And when he lays out something the way he did regarding his quest for help at defensive end via trade channels, it has my full attention. So stay tuned. History, however brief, tells us something is cooking.
