The Chicago Bears have been one of the quieter teams of the 2022 offseason. GM Ryan Poles took over in January. Since then, he has made a grand total of 11 new additions to the roster. That might sound like a lot, but considering they’ve lost 14 players to other teams, it really isn’t. Currently, they have a total of 57 players under contract. That means they need to add 33 more bodies before the start of training camp in July.
People are struggling to understand what GM Ryan Poles is trying to accomplish here. He wants to build through the draft. Okay, fair enough. The issue is he only has six picks to work with. That would knock the number down to 27 players they’d still need to sign. To say nothing, they haven’t done enough to build around Justin Fields. Thus far, they’ve added a cheap center (Lucas Patrick), two former backup receivers (Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown), a backup running back (Darrynton Evans), and a fullback (Khari Blasingame).
Not exactly a group that should be expected to move the needle.
Poles understands the frustration from fans. Other teams are making bold moves trying to help their young quarterbacks. Here he is sitting back doing next to nothing. He continues to preach that he isn’t interested in opening a short-term window of success by doing that. This has to be about the long-term. Poles wants the Bears to be a contender every year. To do that, he must build the roster right by stockpiling young, cheap talent through the draft.
One person that is a fan of this approach is Brad Spielberger. He is one of the more respected salary cap experts, now working for Pro Football Focus. He appeared on the Hoge and Jahns podcast to talk about what the Bears are doing. Unlike some other people, he supports Poles’ overall approach. Sure it would be nice if he’s done a bit more to help Fields, but the general idea is sound from a long-term perspective.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Chicago Bears aren’t wrong to emulate the Buffalo Bills’ strategy.
Their GM Brandon Beane took a hatchet to that roster back in 2018. Sammy Watkins, Cordy Glenn, Tyrod Taylor, Marcell Dareus, and Ronald Darby were all traded. In free agency, they were mostly quiet, handing out one or two-year deals aside from two players. Star Lotulelei got a five-year contract and Trent Murphy a three-year contract. That was it. No major splashes otherwise. It wasn’t until 2019 that they committed to building around Josh Allen.
Center Mitch Morse, wide receivers Cole Beasley and John Brown, and guard Spencer Long were all signed to three-year deals or more. Then guard Cody Ford and tight end Dawson Knox were added in the draft. Allen took a big step forward that season. This is how the Chicago Bears are setting things up for 2023. They will have a full slate of draft picks and over $100 million in salary cap space.
It is a waiting game at this point.
Poles is trying to improve the Chicago Bears roster on a shoe-string budget for the time being. Try to find some solid cheap free agents, hopefully add two or three starters in the draft, and then mine undrafted free agency for maybe a couple of hidden gems. Combined with a more competent coaching staff, this team might at least be competitive. If not, they’ll reassess next offseason when the real work begins.
