Chicago Bears: Expect Poles To Look For Free Agent Linemen

While Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has some valuable draft picks, including the number one pick, he needs veteran offensive linemen if he wants to really fix the offense.

The Chicago Bears are heading into one of the most impactful offseasons in the franchise’s history. After a 3-14 season, the team has the number one overall pick as well as seven others.

Additionally, the Bears have about $100 million (and counting) to spend in free agency. That is the highest in the league by a large margin.

Many people expect general manager Ryan Poles to overhaul the offense. He wants to put the franchise quarterback, Justin Fields, in a position to succeed.

Fields had his moments in the 2022 season. He fell 64 yards short of the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback. He made some electric plays with his legs. Despite having the opponents know what was coming, Fields still made big plays.

However, Fields wasn’t able to be as consistent with his throwing. The Bears finished last in the league in passing attempts, passing yards, and number of yards per pass attempt. They also finished 22nd in interceptions and 19th in passing touchdowns.

Yes, part of the reason for those results was Fields. He is a young player and still needs some development to do. However, a bigger part of the reason has to do with the weapons and protection surrounding him.

We saw the Chicago Bears with a subpar wide receivers corps. They could not create separation or make big plays when the ball went to them.

Also, the offensive line had trouble protecting a quarterback like Fields. They gave up 58 sacks for the second consecutive season. That is 116 sacks in two seasons. While many want to place the blame on Fields holding the ball, he didn’t take the majority of snaps last season.

Not everything can be improved by the draft

Poles expressed his desire to build the team mainly through the draft. He wants to have young players grow and help improve the team.

While that is all well and good, there are some areas in which veteran help is better help. That area is the offensive line.

The Chicago Bears offensive line needs an overhaul. The unit struggled for the better part of a decade. Poles, being an offensive lineman himself, understands what the unit needs to succeed.

Poles used four of his 11 draft picks last year on offensive linemen. One of them, Braxton Jones, ended up being a great pickup. Jones ended up becoming the starting left tackle and played every snap in the season.

Two of the other three linemen are still with the team (Zachary Thomas is now with the Los Angeles Rams). They all have a year under their belts and should get better.

While the future is bright with the young linemen, they aren’t ready to take over and help the offense. Jones should continue as the starter but the others aren’t more than just backups for now.

If Poles wants to make life better for Fields he needs to find veteran help. Using an offensive lineman in the first round to plug in and help right away wouldn’t be feasible. That move would take away from improving the defensive line, also a huge area of need.

Using young players along the offensive line takes time to develop. If Poles hits free agency and picks up veteran help there it will speed up the improvement. Then, a few years down the line, the young players can finally be able to take over.

Poles will be actively looking for veteran lineman help

Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic recently wrote about this fact.

It wouldn’t be a surprise for Poles to spend money on the offensive line. It’s an area of need, a position he emphasizes, and usually one where a team can be more comfortable getting immediate help from veterans as opposed to rookies.

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There are a lot of holes to fill on the offensive line. Jones may be the only survivor of the purge. Cody Whitehair is advancing in age and dealing with injuries. Sam Mustipher could return but there is no way he will return as a starter. Larry Borom is similar to Mustipher. If he returns it will be in a reserve role. Lucas Patrick‘s season was washed with injuries in 2022. He could return or Poles could decide to cut his losses.

Then, there is Teven Jenkins. There is a big decision to make. He did well as the starting right guard. However, as in his rookie season, he dealt with injuries. This could be a pattern with him. There are plenty of teams who will still want him and perhaps trade a draft pick for him.

There are a number of linemen who will be available this offseason. Tackles like Orlando Brown Jr, Mike McGlinchey, Kaleb McGary, and Jawaan Taylor, among others, could be available. At center there could be players like Jason Kelce, Ethan Pocic, and Garrett Bradbury could be had. Then, at guard Justin Pugh, Ben Powers, and Nick Gates could be options.

Of course, that list could most certainly change before the start of free agency. Franchise tags and salary cap casualties will happen that could erase some names and add others. This truth still holds, though. Poles has to go through free agency to overhaul the offensive line.