The Chicago Bears have remained quiet for the past two months. Their roster moves were largely concluded in May. Head coach Ben Johnson and his staff used OTAs and minicamps to assess where things stood. Based on the initial buzz, it sounds like team brass is comfortable with the current slate of players. Training camp is two weeks away. GM Ryan Poles doesn’t seem anxious to make any further moves of note. However, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t. Sometimes, the situation on the free agent market demands action.
They say having too many good players at a position is a luxury. That is nonsense in the NFL. Football is one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet. Injuries are an inevitable fact of life. The more capable bodies you have at a position, the better your odds are of surviving without a steep decline. Most would say the Bears are more than set at cornerback going into 2025. That said, Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron pointed out a unique phenomenon on the open market.
An abnormal number of quality names are still available. The Bears should consider adding another body regardless of need.
The Chicago Bears would benefit from one of those guys in camp.
Samuel Jr. was an ascending star in Los Angeles, collecting nine interceptions in his first three seasons. Unfortunately, injuries knocked him out for most of 2024. Gilmore isn’t the shutdown guy he was six years ago, but he continues to prove he can be dependable even in his mid-30s. Like Samuel, Fuller was dogged by injuries last season, but was a productive nickel corner before that. The list of options is a good one for the Chicago Bears. Their cornerback situation is good, but hardly complete. Kyler Gordon has health concerns of his own. Tyrique Stevenson was rough last season. Terell Smith has never been a starter. Zah Frazier is a rookie.
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Nobody should turn their nose up at the team bringing in more competition, especially with lingering questions about the pass rush. It will be interesting to see if the team takes that advice.
@Dr. Melhus — You continue to miss the point! These aren’t individual assessments of the various Bears players, that Ryan Poles selected… Rather, this is an assessment of the ability of Ryan Poles to make a prudent decision; using data that was published nationally, prior to the event — the annual NFL Draft. ————– Can GM Ryan Poles “color within the lines” as other NFL GMs do? Can Ryan Poles curb his impetuous urges and lead a more disciplined organization, than he has led in the past? ————– This is not to say that selecting a player on a whim,… Read more »
@TGena: The fundamental problem with your arguments in this thread is that you assume that the CBB player rankings are completely correct and accurate. Unfortunately, they are not. What was Tom Brady’s ranking on the CBB? If any of the 32 NFL teams knew what his career would have turned into, they would have taken him with their first pick, be it at #3 or #52, despite a CBB ranking much lower. How about Maxx Crosby? Or, for a smaller jump, how about Braxton Jones? Taken in the fifth round, his consensus value was either lower or around there, but… Read more »
@Tred — When it comes to DBs, Bears GM Ryan Poles has made mostly reasonable selections as verified by the Consensus Big Board (CBB) — And that includes this year’s 5th round pick CB, Zah Frazier, who was ranked as the #130 college prosoect in this year’s iteration of NFL Mock Draft Database’s CBB. Here’s how the CBB had Ryan Poles’ DBs ranked when it published each of its annual Big Boards: 2025 (712 ranked players): Zah Frazier, ranked at #130; taken at #169 — representing a draft net value of 39 slots — 7 more than the typical 32-slot… Read more »
Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? Does anyone really care? Does anyone know definitively who is in charge of Bears’ personnel decisions? Control for George and Warren now. GM Poles has the formal position of “authority.” My HC Ben has the assumed informal position of “power.” The Competent Crew (CCs) are expected to have major “influence” in their respective domains. My mere guess is that during the draft, the HC and perhaps the offensive CCs had priority for the first 2 or 3 picks. After Loveland and Luther, the picks and trades involved Poles and the other CCs… Read more »
@TGena – a very concise argument, backed by facts. So, of course it will draw the ire of the Poles Boys… Of course, I actually LIKE Poles work at DB- which proves he can do something right in my book. It’s just that I really don’t care for much else aside from hiring Coach Johnson. IF he hired Coach Johnson. Because, if you really think about it – if we cant put 100% of the blame for Eberflus, Getsy, Waldron, Morgan, and the rest of the clown school that was fired earlier (and I’m not at all sure we can),… Read more »