One thing to always remember about Ryan Poles is he’s not a GM who is stuck in traditional ways of thinking. He isn’t afraid to be aggressive (up to a point) to plug roster holes. That includes the trade market. The Chicago Bears already sent a 6th round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for veteran Jonah Jackson, a former Pro Bowler who spent three seasons playing under Ben Johnson in Detroit. Most felt that move was a smart way to set up the team’s plans for free agency. As it turns out, Poles might not be done.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic dropped a bombshell that the Kansas City Chiefs are suddenly looking to trade two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney. Unsurprisingly, the Bears are one of the teams involved in talks. Thuney has been one of the best guards in the NFL for the past decade. He won two Super Bowls in New England and then two more in Kansas City. He’s renowned for his excellent pass protection and leadership abilities. There is no question he would be an instant upgrade over anything the Bears have.
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Mere minutes after Russini revealed the interest, Ian Rapoport confirmed that not only was a trade discussed, but it’s going to happen. Just like that, in the space of 48 hours, the Bears have secured two starting guards for their offensive line. Thuney is 32 years old, so his longevity will be a talking point. He has one year left on his current deal at $16 million. It wouldn’t be surprising if Poles looks to secure him with a short-term extension of some kind. The deal will be for a future 4th round pick.
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Ryan Poles making these trades was easy to predict in hindsight.
All one had to do was take a look at the guard market in free agency. Trey Smith was tagged by the Chiefs, which suddenly left the Bears with options like Aaron Banks (average), Will Fries (injured), and Kevin Zeitler (35 years old). Word is Banks could command somewhere in the vicinity of $18 million per year. It is hardly shocking that Poles wasn’t keen on forking over that kind of money for a player who clearly doesn’t deserve it. That meant he had to get creative.
Acquiring two former Pro Bowlers for what amounts to a 6th round pick and future 4th round pick feels like smart business. Ryan Poles gets two proven commodities on the interior offensive line who should be able to stabilize the situation for the next year or two. Ryan Poles knew he had the cap space to absorb their hefty contracts. Now, he’s free to focus on any position he wants in free agency and the trade. The Bears GM wanted flexibility. He found it. Caleb Williams should be happy.
It’s just a desperately weak trade that might pan out well, but for any Bears fan that believes this to be a great slam-dunk trade is either a zealous fanatic or a naive optimist. I just call them male hyenas who believe that if they all band together that somehow, they must be right and we great Lions are wrong. Or as Children of the Corn, they are true believers in Poles’ mythical projection of success to Make the Bears Great Again.
@BearDownTX — So, let’s make a note of this… You are 100% supportive of paying 28 year old Jonah Jackson, $17,000,000 per year — and handing him the 2025 Bears starting position at LG — where he took only 93 snaps last year with the LA Rams and scored PFF grades of: Overall: 67.5 Run block: 68.8 Pass block: 58.3 …. all on a total snap count of 266, in 2024. And where Teven Jenkins 27, scored PFF grades of: Overall: 75.4. Run block: 75.8 Pass block: 74.3 … on a total snap count of 738, in 2024, with the… Read more »
All I detect is a GM just simply doing his job, as expected. Nice, let’s see how it works out. Because it has not worked well during those torrid Three 3 3 3 years of pain-staking disaster and misery. And don’t kid yourself, we are in Year Four 4 4 4 4 of an unnecessarily long rebuild with no assurance of success, yet.
Learn to read.
It’ll improve your life.
Build thru the draft. Ok genius. The draft is well into April. Trade time is
Now! followed by FA . If ya sit on your hands till then,, youll be outta luck. Your boi is being proactive. People are happy with whats transpiring. Im convinced when the Bears are better next year… you will disappear or find some odd fact to dwell on to be depressed about. Thats how you roll.
When good things happen you go ignore them, and hide, or find something else to complain about.