Nobody can say the Chicago Bears had a bad opening period of free agency. GM Ryan Poles did a solid job upgrading critical areas of the roster. Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards drastically improved the linebacking corps. Nate Davis provides athleticism and grit at guard. DeMarcus Walker and Andrew Billings give them power along the defensive line. Robert Tonyan also provides underrated depth at tight end. It’s been a productive run thus far. However, some Bears fans remain dissatisfied.
That stems from Poles’ inability to reel in some of the bigger free agent names on the market, particularly along the offensive and defensive lines. Mike McGlinchey, whom the Bears were connected to by several insiders, signed with the Denver Broncos. Interior pass rusher Dre’Mont Jones went to Seattle. Kaleb McGary took considerably less money to stay put in Atlanta. Considering the money he had and the pressing need for those positions, it was hard to understand why Poles wasn’t more aggressive. He explained on Bears Weekly with Jeff Joniak that it wasn’t just about the money with those decisions.
“Money does talk. It’s a huge driver, but what you can sense about guys… are the ones that want to be there. Sometimes they take less, sometimes they don’t want to hear from anyone else; they want to be a Chicago Bear.”
Ryan Poles doesn’t just want mercenaries.
He doesn’t want players on his roster only there for the money. He wants guys that buy into the vision of what the Bears are trying to build. That is a big reason he was comfortable spending on Edmunds. Not only did the linebacker have a unique skill set, but he also brought the type of character and buy-in mentality Poles was looking for. Edwards, as a lifelong Bears fan, was an easy sell. Talk to every free agent signing they’ve made, and the statements remain consistent.
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They wanted to be here.
Yes, the price tag is a central focus for Ryan Poles in free agency. He, like any other GM, doesn’t want to overspend. That said, part of his approach was also driven by reading the players involved. It’s clear he got a sense from guys like McGlinchey, Jones, and McGary that while they were open to playing in Chicago, they weren’t fully committed to the idea. Once that became clear, and the money reached the red line, the Bears were content to move on.
ghost tommahawk stfu already, no pass rush means your secondary will get burned. No one can cover people for over 15 seconds. if you have no pressure on QBs in the NFL today, your secondary will be toast .. try watching the games before you knock what is actually a pretty decent secondary with the additions of the two rookies last year.
well exlained dillbo, go read is article on experts in lock step on who the bears are picking, he can’t even cut and paste correctly, was wrong who kiper had picked.
A lot of QB’s can’t score when the pocket breaks down so Fields is going to stay QB1 no matter how legitimate the passing complaints are. Hopefully, they can upgrade this O-Line to consistently run the ball and pass protect. WR & TE play has been dismal. Seems everything is being worked on so no need to say the sky is falling. The Defense needs a lot too.
@ThomasGena. Great analysis dude. Looking how long Fields holds the ball and you come to realize that the line wasn’t that bad given how long he holds the ball. It wasn’t that dudes weren’t open. They were. He just waits till they’re WIDE OPEN to make the throw. This is the NFL. Dudes aren’t wide open unless their defender fell down.
It’s been a real good free agency… but the defensive backfield is a mess. I’m not sold on Johnson AT ALL and the rest is 🤷♂️. More needs to be done here because that unit was GARBAGE and got exploited like no other until I’ve ever seen in Chicago.