The Chicago Bears have sought leverage in the stadium talks with Illinois for years. They finally found some when they began negotiating with the state of Indiana about possibly moving their operation to the northwest region. It made sense. That area of the state is woefully underdeveloped and in need of a revenue infusion. A brand-new sports stadium complex would be just the ticket, especially given the Bears’ premier franchise status. All that was needed was finding a site they liked.

Eventually, they settled on one in the suburb of Hammond. It has a property of 340 acres near Wolf Lake that offered the ideal spread of land to reshape however the Bears wanted. What they didn’t bother to mention publicly was why that land was available in the first place. According to Robert McCoppin of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears aren’t exactly looking at premium ground. It seems decent on the surface as a golf course, but it hides a dirty secret. Literally.

The Chicago Bears would be building on a literal pile of human crap.

“I would throw up the red caution flags immediately,” he told the Tribune. “I’ve worked on enough sites with gas stations or dry cleaners or some sort of hazardous material to know it contaminates the ground. I would be very concerned about selecting a site like that.”

Tinaglia is not the first to voice concerns about the site near Wolf Lake in Hammond. In the past, area residents fought to get the site cleaned up. The result was a golf course built on top of a mountain of slag  — a rocky waste product from steel production — that was capped with bio-solids that are treated human waste.

The location also sits near several hazardous waste sites, across the street from an oil tank storage complex, and in the shadow of the Midwest’s largest oil refinery.

Now it makes sense why the Bears keep dithering.

They desperately want to get a deal done with Illinois so they can just build in Arlington Heights. That site is far more developed and far less hazardous to people. Hammond might be a big, wide-open expanse ready to be remade, but the cost and effort required are being glossed over. Just cleaning up the waste on a property that large could require anywhere from $100 million to over $270 million. It gets worse if there is groundwater contamination. The Bears would have to get all of that cleaned up before they can even start developing the property.

Indiana has pledged a willingness to help after recent legislation, but it’s still a financial headache the Chicago Bears seem reluctant to face. Going from building at the site of a former prestigious horse racing course to a literal human waste dump would be humiliating. No matter what team president Kevin Warren or owner George McCaskey says, their actions tell the entire story. If that site were so appealing, they would’ve already decided to move there.

Will Illinois call their bluff?

Not much time is left in the spring session of the state legislature. If the megaprojects bill doesn’t get passed before the end of May, it likely won’t this year. That would basically mean the Bears have two choices. Either they wait another year, or they go to Hammond. Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker seemed confident a deal would be struck before the deadline. Making tweaks to the bill so it can pass the state senate is the final hurdle, and negotiations have been difficult. It is so close to finally being over.

Yet as we’ve seen for the past five years, nothing is ever easy when this team and government officials get involved. The Bears have put themselves in a position where they have to choose between dealing with Illinois politicians and a literal pile of human feces. With each day that passes, that pile looks a bit more enticing. One can only imagine how the Bears were sold on Hammond. Did they just look at which property was the biggest and decide that was the one they wanted? Given what we know about the organization, it’s likely they did minimal research before making such a decision.

When the Chicago Bears drafted Sam Roush, it was a major shock to fans. What was the team doing taking a tight end in the 3rd round when they already had two excellent options on the roster with Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet? It didn’t make any logistical sense, considering other obvious needs they had. The explanation that soon came out was that Roush was one of the best blockers in the entire draft. He’d be an immediate help both in protecting Caleb Williams and opening up the run game.

Fair enough. However, things have taken on a new light in the past couple of weeks. Rumblings from Halas Hall suggest Roush is much more than just a blocker. He has athleticism for such a big guy, showing burst in his route-running, and he couples it with a decent pair of hands. Some are wondering if the Bears got a more well-rounded player than people realized. Adam Hoge and Adam Jahns summed it up on their recent Hoge & Jahns podcast episode. From what they’re seeing, they may have found another Kmet.

Why Sam Roush being another Kmet is a great thing.

Think about how valuable Cole was last season for the Bears. Not only was he a dependable blocker in the run game, but he was also their most underrated threat in the passing game. Every time the Bears seemed to hit a big play in a big moment, it was Kmet doing the damage. It happened in Philadelphia and against Los Angeles. Defenses never found a way to counter the threat of Loveland and Kmet. Now, try to imagine what would happen if you added another player like that to the chessboard. Who’s stopping it?

This is what Ben Johnson was thinking when Roush was drafted. Most teams don’t have two tight ends of this caliber in the NFL. Now the Bears potentially have three. Defenses aren’t ready for something like that. No offense in history has leaned into a three-tight-end attack before, aside from running the ball in short-yardage situations. This could present all sorts of matchup advantages since all three are big targets with enough speed to consistently beat linebackers or safeties in coverage.

Why it is also a bad thing.

There is a fundamental truth about the NFL and sports in general. If you have two of the same thing, the odds are that you’ll eventually unload one of them. If Sam Roush is another Kmet, then you have to figure that at some point, the Bears will decide that having two of the same thing is redundant. That could lead to the decision to trade Kmet elsewhere, both to secure draft capital and clear his contract off the books. It isn’t something fans want. They love Kmet since he’s a local kid and has been part of this rebuild since the beginning. Trading him from his favorite team would be heartbreaking.

The good news is they won’t have to do it immediately. Loveland won’t be due an extension for another two years, presuming he becomes the All-Pro many believe he will. That eases the pressure on the Bears to do anything for the time being. They can keep Kmet on the books through the end of his contract after 2027 if they wish. From there, it gets complicated. He’ll still be 28 years old by that point and looking for a new deal. Would he take one friendly to the team to stay or seek the biggest payday possible?

Sam Roush being on the team would kill any leverage he would’ve had.

The pass rush has been, and will likely remain, a hot topic among Chicago Bears fans until the team does something to address it. Leaning on minor interior additions like Neville Gallimore and Jordan Van Den Berg, while hoping Dayo Odeyingbo returns healthy from an Achilles injury, feels like a poorly calculated gamble. There is no way the team brass can be that naive, right? It is why hopes remain high that they’ll eventually add a veteran of some kind to the mix before the season begins. One who is suddenly getting some steam is Von Miller.

Former player Brian Baldinger, who works for NFL Network, recently stated that the Bears should make a run at future Hall of Fame edge rusher Von Miller. Though 37 years old, he demonstrated he can still be an impact player, recording 9 sacks in 2025. It appears Baldinger isn’t the only one thinking that. Former player Matt Bowen picked up the idea in his recent ESPN column, feeling Miller offers exactly what the Bears need. They don’t need a savior. Just someone to hunt the quarterback on obvious passing downs.

“Von Miller, Edge

Best team fit: Chicago Bears

The Bears are awaiting the return of edge rushers Dayo Odeyingbo (Achilles) and Shemar Turner (torn ACL), and the team didn’t take an edge rusher in the draft. That could open the door for Miller as a sub-package defender for Chicago.

At this stage of his career, Miller is best used as a true designated pass rusher. He had a team-high nine sacks for the Commanders last season.”

Von Miller wouldn’t be the first old pass rusher who helped the Bears.

Let’s not forget that Chicago already has good information on him. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen worked with him way back in 2011. He knows what type of player and person Miller is. Besides, it’s not like the Bears have a history of terrible luck with moves like this. In fact, betting on older pass rushers has benefited them more than you’d think. It started with Alan Page in 1978. Most thought the 33-year-old was washed up in Minnesota. He came to Chicago and had three outstanding seasons. Clyde Simmons, a former two-time All-Pro for Philadelphia, was a journeyman by age 35. That didn’t stop him from giving the Bears seven sacks in 1999. And let’s not forget the wild ride that was Robert Quinn.

There is nothing wrong with the rental market in the NFL, provided you spend money in the right places. Usually, it should be on guys who have done it for a long time. Von Miller fits that description. He may not be the unstoppable force he was a decade ago, but he has enough gas in the tank to still beat most of the tackles in this league.

Would Miller be interested?

At this stage of his career, the Canton-bound edge rusher is hunting for one last shot at a Super Bowl. He’d hoped he would get it with Washington last season. After all, they’d gone to the NFC championship the year before. Unfortunately, injuries and age wrecked their hopes. If he signs anywhere, it will be with a team he feels has a shot to go the distance. The Bears went 11-6 last season and won a playoff game. They have a dynamite offensive head coach and an emerging young quarterback.

Most importantly, they have a vacancy at edge rusher. Remember, they lost Dominique Robinson to free agency and technically never brought anybody in to fill that spot. He logged 135 pass rush snaps last season. The plan for Von Miller would be far easier. Have him and Austin Booker rush from the edge while Odeyingbo moves inside on passing downs. It was always the plan last season, but injuries got in the way. All the Bears have to do is free up enough cap space to make it happen.