The Chicago Bears came into the 2023 off-season with more money than any NFL team by a wide margin. It was a golden opportunity for GM Ryan Poles to infuse his roster with some proven veteran talent. Nobody can say he did nothing. Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Nate Davis, and DeMarcus Walker formed the core of Chicago’s foray into the market. However, many feel the team could’ve and should’ve done more. They had more than enough money left over, and some key names slipped away to other teams despite their prices not seeming to be that high.
Mike McGlinchey went to Denver. Dre’Mont Jones went to Seattle. Jawaan Taylor landed in Kansas City. The Bears passed on all of them. Why? Poles offered an explanation during the latest episode of 1920 Football Drive on the team’s YouTube channel. He reiterated that the Bears would never operate outside the borders of reason in free agency. They’ll target players of value but stick to established price points. This way, they can maintain flexibility in the long term.
Ryan Poles doesn’t mind taking swings, but they must be justified.
Edmunds is a perfect example. People will argue he’s an off-the-ball linebacker. You should never pay big money to that position. Most of the time, that’s true, but Edmunds is an exception because he is a unique player. His mixture of size, athleticism, and speed can’t be found on most other teams. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and still only 24 years old. Poles knew he was getting an already good player that may not have even peaked yet. That is where the value became justified in spending big.
It’s hard to fault Ryan Poles for this approach. The Bears haven’t gotten great results by spending lavishly in free agency. At best, it got them a brief spurt of success for one or two years. Then they’d fade back into obscurity. Poles doesn’t want that. He aims to build through the draft. Free agency will only be used to plug certain gaps that can’t be covered. That is the right way to do it. The problem is previous Bears regimes haven’t been able to draft well enough to make it work. Poles aims to be different.
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