One thing we can say about the Chicago Bears under this new coaching staff is that they’re not afraid to take gambles on players with, shall we say, mercurial personalities. They proved it last season when they signed C.J. Gardner-Johnson to help out the secondary. The safety has a long-standing reputation for being a loose cannon. Buffalo recently cut him for spitting on another player. Now it appears head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen might be preparing to roll the dice again.

Insider Jordan Schultz reported on Friday that the Bears are bringing in defensive tackle Jordan Elliott for a workout. Why is this such a big deal? Elliott was recently cut by the Tennessee Titans when he went to retrieve a gun from his car following a practice altercation with teammate J.C. Latham. He was intercepted by teammate John Franklin-Meyers and talked down from doing anything rash. Nobody was injured. However, the Titans knew it looked bad and couldn’t afford to let it slide. So he was released.

The Chicago Bears must have credible information on what happened.

After all, Titans head coach Robert Saleh insisted during a presser following the incident that Elliott is not a criminal. He just made a bad mistake in an emotional moment. The guy is a good player who’d never been a problem before that incident. Don’t forget the Bears have some other sources to go on. GM Ryan Poles is friends with Titans GM Mike Borgonzi. He almost certainly called to get some details about what happened. Elliott is also a former teammate of Jeffery Simmons, whom the Bears recently acquired from Tennessee.

There is no way the Chicago Bears would’ve done this if the information they received suggested the defensive tackle was mentally unbalanced or a locker room problem. This workout will give them a chance to meet with Elliott and get his side of the story. Will he own up to the mistake? Will he avoid the question and make excuses? Depending on his answers, the Bears may decide to take the risk. Don’t forget, the team is hurting at defensive tackle after last Monday night.

Kentavius Street was lost to Injured Reserve with a knee injury, and a groin issue hobbles Grady Jarrett. They badly need another body to shore up the middle.

Elliott being the target is not a coincidence.

Chicago is about to face some really good rushing offenses in the near future. While getting him into the lineup for Sunday against Tampa Bay seems unlikely, they face Detroit, Jacksonville, and Buffalo towards the end of November and early December. Elliott will be a big help. He’s been a central part of some pretty good run defenses, including Cleveland in 2023 and San Francisco last year. You could do a lot worse as rotational guys go. Everything depends on what read the Bears get on him during that workout.

If they like what they see and hear, he will likely be signed sometime after the Bucs game on Sunday. That will give them two weeks through the bye to get him ready. If nothing else, it’s nice to see the Bears are willing to take risks on good players despite questionable backgrounds. He won’t be expensive to acquire. If he becomes a problem, cutting him loose will be a non-issue.

Plenty of quarterbacks can play well when things are easy. The protection is good. Guys are getting open. The opponent is weak. What separates the best from everybody else is how they respond when the circumstances get tough. It’s a tough opponent in front of a hostile crowd. The game is close, and you’re playing from behind. How do you respond then? Few in the NFL have proven better in these situations than Caleb Williams. As the pressure mounts, he seems to gain remarkable calm, which has led to some of the most impressive 4th quarter performances in recent memory.

Not all quarterbacks approach handling such tension the same way. Each has their own little methods for dealing with it. Joe Montana was famous for cracking jokes and making small observations that got him and his teammates to lighten up. Tom Brady would manufacture pressure situations in practice every day, getting used to the feeling as much as possible. For Williams, he’s turned to science for an answer. According to Elisee Devlin, the Chicago Bears quarterback uses humming to control his emotions during games.

The data behind this idea sounds crazy, but Caleb Williams is proving it.

Studies show that consistent humming releases nitric oxide into the bloodstream. This widens the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Then there’s the vagus nerve. This runs through the throat and chest and controls what you’d call the body’s “rest and digest” mode. Stimulating it leads to a lower heart rate and slowed breathing. This is something documented by science. It is another sign that Williams is far more informed than people realize. He does his homework, always looking for ways to improve.

For any of you movie lovers out there, Sylvester Stallone actually touched on this strategy in his 2001 movie Driven. In it, he plays a Formula 1 racer named Joe Tanto. His nickname was “The Hummer” because he tended to hum while pushing his car to its limits during races. It seemed so effective that his racing teammate, Jimmy Bly, used the same method to secure a victory in the final sequence of the movie. Was Stallone familiar with the science and put it in the movie? Even if not, that is some pretty impressive accuracy nonetheless.

This is further proof of one thing.

Smart players are always looking for new ways to improve their performance. Science has often been the best way to achieve that. Just because something sounds unusual doesn’t mean it’s wrong. People turned their noses up at Gatorade when it was first introduced. Then Florida used it to gain a massive competitive advantage. Houston Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini cracked his ribs late in the 1978 season and wasn’t likely to play in the playoffs. Then an inventor named Byron Donzis came forward with something called a flak jacket that would protect the ribs. Pastorini wore it and won two playoff games to reach the AFC Championship.

Williams is just furthering that tradition of being proactive in seeking ways to better himself on the field. Humming during a football game may sound odd, but it certainly seems to be working. The quarterback has rarely looked rattled at any point this season.

Ever since Indiana became a viable contender for the Chicago Bears‘ new home as they search for a stadium site, they’ve expressed the utmost confidence that they would emerge the victors. After all, Governor Mike Braun and his supporters successfully pushed through legislation to give the team tax breaks and funding options. All they had to do was pick a location in the northwest region that suited their needs. It looked like the Bears were close to doing exactly that. However, the process has carried on for months. It shouldn’t be taking this long, right?

Well, another announcement from the organization arrived on Friday. While the team insisted they remain active in their process of determining their preferred site in Hammond, they expressed newfound optimism about a deal with Illinois after state leaders met with their top brass.

Much of this newfound momentum came after Bears part-owner Pat Ryan stepped in to lead the negotiations with Governor J.B. Pritzker. This apparently drew the first negative reaction from Indiana that we’ve seen, with the Northwest Indiana Times reporting that Braun is all but threatening to revoke those tax incentives if the Bears don’t make a decision.

“Gov. Mike Braun is strongly urging the Chicago Bears to finalize their plans for a Hammond stadium immediately or risk losing the tax savings and funding opportunities offered by Indiana.

The warning from the Republican chief executive comes as the professional football team renews its interest in a potential Illinois stadium deal ahead of the upcoming six-day meeting of the Illinois General Assembly.”

They clearly sense the Chicago Bears are close to something big.

Pritzker has never offered concrete details on the process for years. That changed this week when he told reporters that the plan is to put together a bill proposal for the hearings on November 17th. If things go smoothly, there should be a vote in the first week of December. Presumably, if it passes both the House and Senate, Pritzker could have it signed before the end of the year. That means the Bears would be free to choose their building spot in Illinois and begin construction early in 2027.

The most interesting wrinkle in all of this is that an undercurrent of momentum exists that could see Chicago re-enter the fray. Remember, the bill proposal would likely allow municipalities with 70,000 or more residents to establish sports authorities, enabling them to negotiate with the Bears on a stadium site. Multiple development teams in Chicago are gearing up to make a run at the team. One is pushing for them to replace the White Sox in Bridgeport by building a new stadium over Guaranteed Rate Field. Another believes the massive South Works property would be an ideal site for development.

Indiana knows they’re in a bad spot.

Throughout the process, they’ve felt confident they have the best offer on the table. That said, there is no way to sweeten the pot at this point. They are all in. The Bears still haven’t said yes. It feels like a clear indication that they have always preferred to stay in Illinois. The problem has always been their inability to make headway in Springfield with legislation. Adding Ryan to the mix, with an assist from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, seems to have done the trick.

Braun’s subtle scare tactic is a clear sign of weakness. He realizes Indiana’s position is slipping and all the work he’s done over the past few years might’ve been for nothing. A lot of people won’t be happy about that. They were made certain promises. Such failures have consequences. Still, nothing is certain until the pen is put to paper. Answers should be had a month from today.

It seems the Jeffery Simmons trade is still generating reactions even days after it went down. Much of the controversy seems to stem from the New York Giants. It was revealed that head coach John Harbaugh attempted to go over the head of Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi to ownership. His goal was to convince her that it would be in the best interests of the Titans organization to open up Simmons to bidding from other teams. One would think that means the Giants, but follow-up reports suggest New York had no prayer of matching the offer Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears made.

So why make the phone call at all?

The best guess is the Giants were annoyed at not at least being included in the discussions, along with knowing the likelihood that Poles was getting a discount in the deal because he and Borgonzi were friends. NFL insider Mike Florio believes this is true. From what he’s heard, there is a strong likelihood Tennessee could’ve gotten more had they opened the bidding up to more teams. Now, it’s easy to say that after the deal is done. Every team would gladly say, “I would’ve given more!” to make themselves look better.

Then again, this only makes Poles look even better for getting Simmons at a cheaper price.

Ryan Poles has no reason to apologize.

It’s not like he planted Borgonzi in Tennessee with the eventual intent to trade for Simmons. This was merely a case of good fortune. There have been many examples of old friends working out deals together in NFL history. Fans even saw it happen a couple of days before when Seattle GM John Schneider and Indianapolis assistant GM Ed Dodds worked out a deal for star guard Quenton Nelson. Hell, New York took advantage of a similar situation a couple of years ago. People conveniently forget that Giants GM Joe Schoen and Panthers GM Dan Morgan are close friends, with their families vacationing together. That is a primary reason New York was able to land star pass rusher Brian Burns.

Yet somehow it’s a big problem now? This has nothing to do with fairness. It is a simple case of Harbaugh being ignored and him not liking it. So he tried to tattle to Titans ownership, hoping they’d force Borgonzi to play with the other kids, too. All the while, he knew perfectly well there was no chance New York could meet the asking price. This feels like a blatant attempt by Harbaugh to stop one of his biggest obstacles in the NFC from getting a lot better. Ryan Poles merely outmaneuvered him.

Don’t expect the Bears to apologize.

After all, it’s not like Harbaugh is innocent himself. The longtime head coach was part of some pretty shady practices during his long run with the Baltimore Ravens. He has no place to complain about Poles using his personal relationships to his advantage. Nothing in the rulebook says you can’t do that. Harbaugh would’ve done the same exact thing if he knew Borgonzi personally. Let’s not act like the man is righteous. He wanted to sabotage the Bears getting one of the best defensive players in football and failed.

Meanwhile, Poles seemed to get Simmons at a lower price than some realize. A bidding war wouldn’t have guaranteed a bigger haul, but it’s possible the price could’ve approached two 1sts and a 2nd or 3rd. Keeping it at a 4th while getting a future 5th back is certainly a small victory. If the Bears are successful over the next two years, those 1st round picks won’t be as valuable as many believe. Remember, a late 1st is valued around 700 points. The top pick of the 2nd is 580. A top 10 pick is worth at least 1300.

The Chicago Bears already got a step ahead of their NFC North rivals ahead of the trade deadline when they flipped two 1st round picks to the Tennessee Titans for star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. General manager Ryan Poles picked the perfect moment to go on the offensive after years of more measured moves. Now it’s looking like he might be shifting to defense. What does that mean? In front-office terms, it involves trading for a player that one of your rivals is interested in. The player involved in this subterfuge is Tariq Woolen.

It isn’t a secret that the Bears could use some help at cornerback. Jaylon Johnson is having the worst season of his career. Tyrique Stevenson hasn’t been much better. Malik Muhammad is a rookie and dealing with turf toe. Kyler Gordon has suddenly become their best corner almost by default. They badly need another option in the mix. Woolen has all the physical tools Dennis Allen and Al Harris prefer: 6’4″ size, length, and blinding speed. Philadelphia Eagles reporter Thomas Petersen is hearing that the soon-to-be free agent corner is the target for both the Bears and Detroit Lions.

Tariq Woolen is a gamble.

There is no denying the talent. He was superb as a rookie in 2022, grabbing 6 interceptions. From there, he became a core member of one of the NFL’s best defenses in Seattle, never allowing a passer rating above 80.0 in any of his four seasons and helping them win the Super Bowl last year. Signing him was an easy choice from the Eagles’ perspective. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well. Through 8 games, Woolen has allowed 401 yards and 3 touchdowns for a 111.4 passer rating.

The cornerback has a reputation for being somewhat mercurial. His talent has flashed plenty of times this season, but the lack of consistency is the bigger concern. Do the Bears think they can get him straightened out? If they do, they would be getting a blue-chip talent at a position of need. It isn’t hard to see why Detroit wants him. They have the 32nd-ranked pass defense in the NFL. Their 5-2 record is mostly credited to their offense. They know hopes for a Super Bowl run rest on their ability to stop the top QBs in the NFC.

It makes sense why the Bears would want to keep them in that position.

Dealing with Howie Roseman will be tricky.

The Eagles’ general manager is notorious for being dangerous as a trade negotiator. He’s finagled some wild compensation for players that had no business costing that much. The good news is that Poles has experience working with Roseman. The two have struck two trades together since 2022. The first involved defensive end Robert Quinn, and the other was switching spots in the 1st round of the 2023 draft. Poles got a 4th round pick in each of those deals. That provides hope that he understands not to let Roseman pull him beyond a certain point.

Given the struggles this season and his expiring contract, it is a safe assumption that the Bears believe Tariq Woolen is worth somewhere around a 5th round pick. That is usually the going rate for such players. No doubt Rosemean will hope to push that to a 4th. Pitting them against the Lions is certainly a proven way to create the necessary tension. Give us this much and you won’t have to see him in Honolulu blue on Thanksgiving. Will it work? We’ll know within the next four days.

The Chicago Bears have kept taking steps in a direction fans never expected them to go. For so long, this organization did things backward. They never understood the formula for constructing a winner. Somehow, team chairman George McCaskey overcame more than a decade of blunders to land the right man for the job. A proper visionary in general manager Ryan Poles. He understood that to get the organization where it wants to go, he’d have to draft well, find a quarterback, and pinpoint a leader at head coach.

It certainly wasn’t perfect. Things got off to a rough start. Still, as we’ve watched the team ascend in recent weeks, it is taking shape like never before. For the first time, it looks like a Super Bowl contender. In fact, if you track how all the pieces came into place, you’d swear the Bears’ rise directly mirrors that of an all-time great team: the 1990s Green Bay Packers.

They say sports are cyclical. Is it possible the Bears mirrored how their eternal rivals rose from decades of ineptitude to dominate the NFC? Three distinct parallels line up.

The Chicago Bears parallels to the 1990s Packers are getting weird.

#1 – Acquired rocket-armed QB

Packers GM Ron Wolf knew he needed a quarterback when he took over the franchise. He’d had his eye on a young kid from Southern Mississippi named Brett Favre. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Falcons plucked him in the draft before Wolf could. Luckily, Favre ran afoul of Falcons head coach Jerry Glanville. Wolf offered a 1st round pick for the struggling backup, knowing the immense talent he had. Of course, Favre would go on to have one of the greatest careers in NFL history, highlighted by his bazooka of a right arm.

Ironically, the Bears snagged Caleb Williams through a trade as well. They flipped the #1 pick in 2023 to Carolina for a bevy of picks. One of them became the #1 pick in 2024. Williams brought a new level of talent and energy the organization hadn’t felt before. His old-school work ethic and passion for the game radiated from him. Add that incredible right arm, and you had the makings of a star. Just two and a half seasons into his career, he has the lowest interception rate of any QB with 1,000 or more passes in league history.

#2 – Hired offensive wunderkind as head coach

Green Bay knew that if they wanted to join the top ranks of the league, they’d have to get the quarterback position elevated. To do that, you needed a head coach with the expertise. Mike Holmgren had done wonders with Joe Montana and Steve Young in San Francisco as an understudy of Bill Walsh. His offenses never ranked lower than 3rd. His influence on Favre proved critical as the two formed a tandem that would dominate the league for the remainder of the 1990s, culminating in 3 MVPs and a Super Bowl title.

Ben Johnson emerged from nowhere. While Holmgren was brought up under the guidance of NFL royalty, Johnson fought his way up the ranks for some bad teams. His genius and uncanny eye for detail helped him become one of the most creative play callers in football. Detroit was an offensive powerhouse all three of his years there. That is the biggest reason the Chicago Bears sought him out. They felt he had the necessary traits to help get the most out of Williams and, by extension, the team.

#3 – Added star interior pass rusher

Things get even eerier from there. A year after their first season with Favre and Holmgren, the Packers recognized they still lacked a defensive centerpiece to complement their developing offense. As luck would have it, All-Pro defensive end Reggie White was becoming a free agent that year. With a strong offer and some luck, they landed the future Hall of Famer. His presence up front completely transformed the Packers’ defense. After ranking 23rd the previous year, they jumped to 2nd in 1993. That trio headlined a 1996 team that finished 1st in points scored and 1st in points allowed.

Now here the Bears are. Johnson and Williams are in their second season together. The offense is rounding into form. Yet something was missing on defense. Despite being well-coached, they didn’t have a difference-maker up front. So they went out and got one, trading for Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans. The defensive tackle is widely considered one of the best in the league. Like White, he commands double teams at all times. Also like White, his impact was immediate. Chicago held the defending champion Seahawks to 9 points going into the 4th quarter before a Colston Loveland fumble handed them a short field for a late touchdown. Simmons was a menace.

Nobody would blink an eye if Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles sat in his chair, lit a cigar, and called it a season. His acquisition of star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans is already looking like a masterstroke. That is a checkmate move when it comes to the trade deadline. Why keep playing? Namely because Poles understands that there is no such thing as giving your team too much help. It is his job to do everything in his power to make the Bears better.

Still, there have to be limits to this, right? There is no way Poles would follow up such a haymaker as Simmons with a second one. Except that might be exactly what he’s contemplated. After the Whistle Sports is a Twitter (X) handle that drew intrigue when it correctly reported that Chicago was inquiring about Simmons on October 28th. Just 24 hours later, the trade went down.

This made the most recent post all the more intriguing. Based on new information, the Bears are sniffing around New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young.

This would be a heat-check move for Ryan Poles.

Interest in somebody like Young is easy to understand. The former #2 overall pick has overcome early career injuries and is playing his best football at age 27. He has 7 sacks in 7 games and had 10 sacks in 12 games last season. The guy finally looks like the superstar he was at Ohio State. Unfortunately, it hasn’t done much to help the Saints. They sit at 2-5 with losses in four of their last five games. If they lose coming out of the bye week against Cleveland on November 8th, that could trigger a decision to start selling off assets.

Young, given his age and contract, would be one of the top targets. He has two years left on his 3-year, $51 million deal. That would give the acquiring team some reasonable long-term control. Ryan Poles tends to prefer players like that. On the younger side, with a chance to build for multiple years. Young would be a tremendous get, health permitting. A line with him, Simmons, Sweat, and Booker would be quite the force. As always, it comes down to the price tag.

Young will probably cost at least a 2nd round pick.

His age, productivity, and contract mean the Saints have considerable leverage in talks. They don’t feel any need to trade him. That means if the Bears or other teams want him, they’ll have to come in with aggressive offers. Poles already surrendered two 1st round picks for Simmons. Would he give away even more high selections for Young? That feels unlikely. The only possible alternative would be to include a player from the Bears’ side who New Orleans might be interested in.

Right now, there isn’t anybody the Bears have that they’d be willing to part with. Rome Odunze is playing well and is a key part of the passing attack. Cole Kmet is injured. Jaylon Johnson has regressed considerably at cornerback. The truth is Chicago doesn’t have the resources to make this digestible for fans already nervous about what it cost to get Simmons. Then again, if Poles believes that strongly about this team, he might as well go for broke.