The Chicago Bears have made their preparations. Scouts have done their evaluations. Coaches expressed their preferences. GM Ryan Poles has his game plan. Free agency is about to begin. The legal tampering period starts on Monday, March 10th. That means teams will be free to negotiate with top names on the market. It shouldn’t take long for agreements to start happening fast. That means Poles must be prepared to move swiftly. He can’t afford to take a casual approach. He’s under far too much pressure to win.
Albert Breer of the MMQB has strong ties to the Bears organization. As things prepare to kick off, he released a complete breakdown of the market. He mentioned two names to watch for in Chicago.
The Chargers would like to retain his bookend Khalil Mack, but the cost will probably be similar to Bosa’s, and the Chicago Bears might look to bring him back…
…Indy’s Will Fries could be another guard that surprises, with Smith tagged, and contending teams such as the Vikings and Houston Texans potentially looking to upgrade on the interior. And while we’re there, teams really like the Atlanta Falcons’ Drew Dalman atop the center market. He could, perhaps, be the last piece of Ryan Poles’s offensive line makeover in Chicago.
Mack turned 34 years old in February, but he had a terrific 2024 season with six sacks and 49 pressures. Chicago needs a second option across from Montez Sweat. While not a long-term solution, Mack could provide an instant jolt. Dalman? He’s the best center available and would be the final piece to the Bears’ rebuild of their interior offensive line after trades for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney.
Ryan Poles must be prepared to open the wallet.
Even though Mack is on the backside of his career, experts still believe he will command a pretty penny. Projections have it around a two-year deal at $22.5 million per. That is a lot, considering there is no telling when his productivity will inevitably fade away for good. If he’s willing to sign a deal that short, it would at least protect the Bears against long-term issues on their salary cap. They would then likely draft another pass rusher to give them some depth and insurance.
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As for Dalman, the belief is he will land somewhere in the vicinity of $14 million per year. That is far more manageable. It also might be the desired move, given how weak the center class is in the draft. Dalman is a solid run blocker who has steadily improved in pass protection over the past couple of seasons. Landing both players would give Ryan Poles free rein to go in any direction he wants in the first two rounds.
@TGena – well you explained your thoughts very well. As you say, we’ll see how things progress. And you are certainly correct when you keep saying it comes back to the won / less record. In the end, that’s all that matters. I know my biggest fear about Poles at this point is that he’ll try to inject too much of his perespective on players into the Bears’ draft and player acquisition plans, and that he won’t lean on the new coaches enough – especially at positions he’s been weak at procuring. But there are a lot of people who… Read more »
@Tred — You’re right — on a number of points (although we’ll need to discuss further the role of HC, Matt Nagy in the team’s post-“double-doink” dowward trajectory from its 12-4 record, in 2018). Still, Jacob Robinson’s article describes “How to build the NFL’s best roster” in four points: 1. Draft well, very often. 2. Win the majority of trades. 3. Sign free agents at non-premium positions. 4. And yes, navigate the cap better than any other team. Point 4 (as do the others) receives more detailed attention in Robinson’s piece — but also pertain to a winning organization —… Read more »
@TGena – I would disagree somewhat with your point. I understand that some GM’s have proven they can be trusted to spend wisely. But so far, I’ve seen nothing from Poles to make me think that him just spending like there is no tomorrow should be considered a safe bet. Roseman is a top 6 -8 ( at WORST) GM. Pace was somewhere in the 20’s by comparison. It may very well be acceptable for Roseman, or a comparable GM to spend big $$ on 30+ year old free agents. A GM operating at that level of competence has proven… Read more »
Mack ain’t coming. Young maybe….others more likely. Most likely it will be someone that has hardly been mentioned. Usually how it goes. Young would be good enough for a few years while they grow their own DEs. Draft one thank you.
Khalil Mack
When are you coming back…