Chicago Bears: Five Questions To Answer In The Offseason

As the NFL playoffs progress, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles prepares for one of the franchise’s most important offseasons. Here are five questions that should be answered.

We are now in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. That means we are a step closer to the Super Bowl. What it also means is that we are a step closer to something the Chicago Bears are involved in — the offseason.

While eight teams prepare for their shot at competing for the title, Bears general manager Ryan Poles is preparing for a big job. He is in charge of running one of the most important periods in franchise history. Chicago just suffered through one of its worst seasons ever.

There have been some positive aspects to such a dreadful year, however. By jettisoning off big contracts and replacing them with short-term, low-cost deals, As a result, he enters the free agency period with the biggest wallet by a great deal. He will be in on just about any free agent he wants.

Additionally, Poles and the Bears have the top overall pick in the upcoming draft. With so many holes on the roster, Poles needs as many picks as possible. That means he could pull the trigger on a deal for the top pick. Furthermore, he has seven other picks. Poles could wheel and deal himself to acquire even more picks.

Let’s take a look at some questions Poles has to answer so he could have a successful offseason and bring winning back to Chicago.

What does the hiring of Kevin Warren do for the franchise?

The Chicago Bears’ hiring of former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren to be team President/CEO was a coup. While he was only with the Big Ten for three years, he was extremely successful.

Under Warren, the Big Ten realigned the league while adding two iconic schools, UCLA and USC. Also, the conference signed a new $1.2 billion media rights deal. He leaves the conference better than how he inherited it.

Under Warren, Poles will be able to fulfill his vision of the rebuild. Warren is a guy who wants his people to make the impossible possible. He invites people to dream big and does what he can to help them achieve it. Poles and Warren should be a great fit together.

Is Poles now ready to go into the second phase of the rebuild?

In his end-of-season press conference, Poles talked about setting up the 2022 season to be the foundation. As mentioned before, Poles had to ship out popular players with big contracts. He also signed their replacements with low-cost players, most of them for just one year.

The fans were very disappointed with Poles standing pat during free agency. They thought the new general manager would take the steps to quickly build the roster. When that didn’t happen, there were many who were upset. They were not looking forward to another frustrating season.

The moves Poles made were necessary, however. Previous general managers did what the fans expected Poles to do — make a splash signing and then neglect the rest of the roster. Poles, on the other hand, wants to build a complete roster. He wants to build a consistent contender. To do that, he needs to have a complete roster. The only way for that to happen was to sacrifice the 2022 season.

Now that the season is over, Poles moves to the next phase. That means that he now has the assets to sign better-quality players. While he doesn’t need to go on a wild spending spree, he has more money and better draft picks to finally field a much better team.

What does Poles do with the number one pick?

Poles was low-key about finishing with the top pick of the draft. Don’t get it wrong, though. Having that pick is huge and could change the game for the Bears. There are a number of teams who need a franchise quarterback. With Justin Fields in the fold, the Bears finally aren’t one of them.

That means that Poles’ phone will be constantly ringing. Quarterback-needy teams will want that top pick and make Poles some big offers. He could not only add picks for this draft but also pick up a few for next year. That helps speed up the rebuild. Poles’ desire is to build the team mainly through the draft. After converting three picks into nine last year, he could garner even more in this draft while adding more for next year as well.

Some people won’t mind if the Bears keep the pick and select a game-changer. However, with teams needing quarterbacks ahead of them, the Bears could trade the pick, move down, and still pick up that game-changer.

That means that in all likelihood the Bears won’t be on the clock when the first pick is called in April.

How does Poles deal with free agency?

As I mentioned, Poles and the Chicago Bears have the highest amount of salary cap space entering free agency in March. They likely have over $120 million to work with.

How does Poles go about spending that money? Well, don’t look for him to go on a huge spending spree. Remember, there are a number of gaping holes on the roster. Many of the players he had in 2022 won’t be there in 2023. Although he came close to doing it this season, Poles cannot field an all-rookie team. The point of the 2022 season was to set a foundation. Now he needs to build on it.

What Poles can do is decide which free agents he absolutely covets. With all the money available, he can get them. Then he could fill out the roster with better players who don’t cost too much.

While Poles should make a couple of signings in the first wave of free agency, look for him to really do a good job in the second wave.

What are the Bears’ biggest needs?

Before Poles spends all the money he has or wheel and deal with his draft picks, he needs to determine what it is the team needs.

Yes, some people will automatically say the team needs everything. While that is true, there are certain positions that need more attention than others.

First and foremost, the Bears need to shore up both of their lines. Far too many times, we saw opposing defenses just obliterate the Bears’ offensive line. In addition, we saw too many running backs gash the defensive line and get big yards. Furthermore, opposing quarterbacks had all day to throw. Even with an improved secondary, if the quarterback has all day to throw he’ll eventually find an open receiver.

Another thing Poles has to determine is if he can break up the trio of Fields, David Montgomery, and Khalil Herbert. They helped give the Bears the best rushing attack in the league.

Those three players combined to rush for 2,675 yards despite missing seven games. Montgomery is due to be a free agent. Will Poles keep the continuity by re-signing him?

Montgomery has been everything the new Chicago Bears regime wanted. He played hard and did whatever was asked of him. While linebacker Roquan Smith complained and eventually requested a trade over a contract dispute, Montgomery said nothing and just kept playing.

Additionally, Montgomery is the Bears’ most complete running back. He runs hard and breaks tackles, catches passes out of the backfield well, and pass blocks very well. While he may not get the most yards running, he does everything well.