Chicago Bears: Byron Pringle Arrest Puts Pressure on Poles

Chicago Bears wide receiver Byron Pringle‘s arrest this past weekend puts undue pressure on general manager Ryan Poles.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Byron Pringle got himself into some trouble this past weekend. Police arrested him in Florida for reckless driving. He was apparently doing donuts on the street while driving on a suspended license. He also had a child in the back seat and was uncooperative with the officers.

This situation puts more pressure on Bears general manager Ryan Poles. Poles should be busy putting the final touches on his first NFL Draft as general manager. Now, in addition to that, he has to deal with a touchy dilemma.

Poles did not exactly set the world on fire with his free agent signings. Many people expected him to give quarterback Justin Fields the weapons he needed to develop. Instead, Poles went bargain-basement shopping and added a bunch of depth players to compete for meaningful snaps this season.

Pringle was supposed to be the top receiver Poles signed, however. He knew the receiver from both of their times with the Kansas City Chiefs. Pringle didn’t exactly wow everyone with his numbers, but he did show flashes of how good he could become. However, he was stuck behind some great receivers with the Chiefs.

Pringle had the best season of his career in 2021. After struggling to see playing time in his previous two seasons, he caught 42 passes for 568 yards and 5 touchdowns. All were career highs.

Hopefully, seeing more snaps in Chicago could have Pringle bloom. He could be the Bears’ third receiver, behind Darnell Mooney and likely whoever the Bears draft in the draft coming up this week.

Now they have this arrest, however.

Poles is trying to change the culture around this franchise. There’s been too much losing and discipline is not the way it’s supposed to be. With his presence at Halas Hall, though, Poles wants to come in and bring in hard-working players who act right.

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This isn’t what Poles envisioned. Now he has to deal with something he didn’t expect. Furthermore, he has eyes on him to see how he deals with it.

One thing we’ve noticed about Poles is his ability to stick to the program, no matter what happens. He wanted to tear down the roster and build it back up. Doing so likely wastes the 2022 season. Poles understands that and continues with the plan. He does so despite seeing quality players around the league going to other teams on relatively cheap terms. No matter who becomes available, and no matter how cost-effective he’ll be, Poles stays on the original course.

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It’ll be interesting to see how Poles deals with this. Does he continue his plan of adding quality players (not just good players, but good people) by cutting Pringle, or does he come up with some reasoning (like redemption) to keep Pringle?

Pringle was an undrafted rookie who signed with the Chiefs in 2018. He worked hard, though, to go from the practice squad to seeing some meaningful time on the field. Now, though, let’s see what the fallout is from this situation.