Ryan Poles wants to focus on the trenches going into this offseason. That much is clear. The Chicago Bears have a ton of holes to fill in that regard. However, the new GM isn’t stupid. A young quarterback is only as good as the weapons around him. If Justin Fields is going to take any meaningful step forward, he’ll need more targets than just Darnell Mooney. Christian Kirk is becoming a name the Bears are hoping to lure by the sound of things.
The former 2nd round pick had trouble getting legitimate attention in the Arizona Cardinals offense before last season. Only after DeAndre Hopkins was injured did the receiver finally see more targets. He took advantage of them too. Kirk finished with 77 catches for 982 yards and five touchdowns. It was his best season yet. Now at 25-years old, he has a chance to make his first significant payday. Estimates have him commanding somewhere around $15 million per year. According to Cardinals beat writer Johnny Venerable, the Bears are at least willing to explore the idea.
The Chicago Bears have been interested in Christian Kirk for weeks now.
— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) March 13, 2022
The rumblings around Christian Kirk suggest he wasn’t happy with how the Cardinals used him. He tends to play some of his best football from the slot, but Arizona’s coaching staff wouldn’t deploy him there often enough to take advantage. He is no doubt hoping his next team will change that. The Bears have a definite need for a slot presence. Somebody that can take advantage of Mooney’s speed on the outside.
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What isn’t clear is how high Poles is willing to go on money. Reports continue to surface that he hopes to play it carefully in free agency to begin stockpiling compensatory draft picks. Paying Kirk $15 million per year would make such an idea more difficult. So either the GM has a way around this problem, or he’s perhaps hoping to secure the wide receiver for less. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
