Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has operated with a consistent approach in undrafted free agency for the past three years. Each time, he signed ten players to contracts. No more. The last time he went over that number was 2022, when he had a ton of roster spots to fill and no 1st round pick. Chicago signed 17 guys that year. Outside of that, the Bears have been one of the quieter teams on the undrafted market. Since 2020, they’ve had more than 11 players signed just once. It hasn’t been their most active part of the offseason.
According to Nick Korte of Over The Cap, that is about to change. Based on his calculations, the Bears are expected to sign 15 undrafted players by the end of business on Saturday, following the third day of the NFL draft. It would be the fifth-most of any team in the NFL. This is in large part due to the team having only 68 players under contract and seven draft picks. Given their lack of salary cap space, their best option is to add as much cheap talent as possible. Undrafted free agency is the obvious choice.
The Chicago Bears’ decision to take this route isn’t surprising.
Cap issues aside, their new coaching staff is big on developing young talent. Head coach Ben Johnson wants to build his own roster. In the absence of several draft picks, he should go hunting for hidden gems on the undrafted market. After all, he’s been involved with some notable ones. He was in Miami as an assistant when they signed eventual Super Bowl hero Damien Williams and linebacker James Burgess. There is also the fact that Poles has a pretty strong track record for finding quality players in this area.
- Theo Benedet
- Tyson Bagent
- Jack Sanborn
- Jake Tonges
- Jaylon Jones
- Josh Blackwell
One would think the Bears GM would want to take more bites at the apple because of this success. For whatever reason, he’s been content to go with a modest 10 every year. Not this time. He and Johnson will collaborate on the biggest class of undrafted rookies seen in five years. The sheer number of roster slots they still have open should offer plenty of incentive for some prominent names to join. That is, before you mention Johnson’s presence and the Bears being a winning team.
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The Bears have already been setting the table for possible signings.
While most of their top 30 visits have been allocated to players most likely to be drafted, a small handful could end up on the undrafted market. Some of the names include Kentucky running back Seth McGowan, Miami center James Brockermeyer, Wake Forest defensive back Karon Prunty, and Washington defensive tackle Anterio Thompson. It is a safe bet they have eyes on plenty more. The trick will be how aggressive they are once the draft ends, and whether they look to add more picks to the seven they currently possess.
Poles has a track record of moving around and collecting extra picks every year. It wouldn’t be shocking if he tries doing that again. Drafting a player is preferable since the Chicago Bears wouldn’t have to fight other teams for him. We’ll see how that goes. Sometimes the trade market isn’t as rich as in other years. If the Bears remain quiet and make their picks, expect them to come out of the gates strong once the market opens. They have plenty of roster slots to fill.
