The Chicago Bears came into the 2023 off-season with more money than any NFL team by a wide margin. It was a golden opportunity for GM Ryan Poles to infuse his roster with some proven veteran talent. Nobody can say he did nothing. Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Nate Davis, and DeMarcus Walker formed the core of Chicago’s foray into the market. However, many feel the team could’ve and should’ve done more. They had more than enough money left over, and some key names slipped away to other teams despite their prices not seeming to be that high.
Mike McGlinchey went to Denver. Dre’Mont Jones went to Seattle. Jawaan Taylor landed in Kansas City. The Bears passed on all of them. Why? Poles offered an explanation during the latest episode of 1920 Football Drive on the team’s YouTube channel. He reiterated that the Bears would never operate outside the borders of reason in free agency. They’ll target players of value but stick to established price points. This way, they can maintain flexibility in the long term.
Ryan Poles doesn’t mind taking swings, but they must be justified.
Edmunds is a perfect example. People will argue he’s an off-the-ball linebacker. You should never pay big money to that position. Most of the time, that’s true, but Edmunds is an exception because he is a unique player. His mixture of size, athleticism, and speed can’t be found on most other teams. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and still only 24 years old. Poles knew he was getting an already good player that may not have even peaked yet. That is where the value became justified in spending big.
It’s hard to fault Ryan Poles for this approach. The Bears haven’t gotten great results by spending lavishly in free agency. At best, it got them a brief spurt of success for one or two years. Then they’d fade back into obscurity. Poles doesn’t want that. He aims to build through the draft. Free agency will only be used to plug certain gaps that can’t be covered. That is the right way to do it. The problem is previous Bears regimes haven’t been able to draft well enough to make it work. Poles aims to be different.
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And let’s not forget, it’s the bears. No sense spending more simply because you can. That’s why the first AH proposal was what it was. The bears have ALWAYS done things on the cheap.
Gena – good analysis. Agree with you on all points. Wish Poles would have signed the center you mentioned.
The Bears may not have lost out on some players, as some think. In actuality some players may choose to play elsewhere for various reasons. such as playing in those states that have no state tax, which in essence, keeps more money in their pocket. Or it could be they want to play and live in warm climate states…
All of those RT’s available in FA this offseason had issues, and the amount of $ spent on them was ludicrous.
Poles is very smart by probably drafting another young tackle to develop, but wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bears sign another veteran tackle for insurance.
Some people just need to relax. Poles knows what’s required of him as far as minimum spending and I’m sure he’ll be in compliance when it’s time to be. Also, we have TEN picks in the draft. Between those picks and the money we have remaining to spend, I’m sure Poles will address all of the pressing needs.
Some people are talking like the draft is over, we’re out of money and we haven’t filled our major holes. Relax. We’re not even 1/3 of the way through acquiring players.