How The Chicago Bears Got A Shockingly Fair Grade On Their Free Agency
Having followed free agency every year for a long time, it isn’t difficult to surmise how grades are usually formed. The teams that spend the most money tend to earn higher grades. Teams that don’t spend much at all get the lower grades. After watching the Chicago Bears have one of their quiet free agency periods in recent memory, it felt like a bad grade was coming their way. Plenty of fans were upset about it, feeling general manager Ryan Poles should’ve been more aggressive.
ESPN finally delivered its breakdown of which teams had done the best work. Unsurprisingly, big spenders like Washington and Las Vegas cracked the top 10. The New England Patriots did as well with their aggressive moves. One would expect the Bears to be well down the list in the 20s range. So it may surprise people to see they sat at a respectable 14th, three spots ahead of Carolina, which spent significantly more money. Ben Solak explained why Chicago’s approach deserves more credit than it gets.
14. Chicago Bears
Key acquisitions and returning players: Coby Bryant, Devin Bush, Garrett Bradbury, Braxton Jones, Neville Gallimore, Cam Lewis
I loved: The Bryant signing. Chicago endured an avalanche of departures in the defensive backfield, as Nahshon Wright (1,177 snaps), Kevin Byard III (1,220), Jaquan Brisker (1,221) and C.J. Gardner-Johnson (612 snaps) have all signed elsewhere this cycle. The Bears needed a starter at safety — a new culture-setter and leader — and Bryant was one of my favorite free agents of the cycle. He’s highly versatile, has explosive stopping power as a tackler and shows great on-field instincts. He’s going to shine for coordinator Dennis Allen.
I didn’t love: How the chips fell at offensive line. The Bears were put in a tricky spot by a brutal patellar injury to left tackle Ozzy Trapilo and then a surprise retirement from center Drew Dalman. Bradbury is a good quick solution at center, but NFC North fans will remember his struggles in pass protection when he was with the Vikings. The Bears still might improve upon him in the draft.
The Chicago Bears got a fair assessment for once.
Solak admits their acquisition of Coby Bryant was one of the best moves in free agency, especially for the $13.33 million per year. That isn’t even in the top 10 among safeties. This is for a guy who just had four interceptions and won the Super Bowl. As for the lowlight, it isn’t even really the Bears’ fault. Ozzy Trapilo blowing out his knee and Drew Dalman retiring were two things completely out of the team’s control. The fact that they managed to find two serviceable band-aids in such a short time deserves some credit.
It hasn’t been perfect, but the team navigated tough circumstances without panicking. Now they head into the draft with a roster that is at least stable, freeing them to go after the best players possible. If they succeed as they did last year, this free agency period will be remembered as one of their best and most disciplined in a long time. Kudos to Solak for giving an honest look at the process rather than just hammering them for not spending enough money.
We’re about to see their draft process tested.
Up until now, Poles has benefitted from picking almost constantly in the top 10 during his tenure as general manager. That makes it easier to land good players. However, only the top organizations manage to do the same despite picking at the back end of the 1st round. Poles got a taste of that in 2022 when he didn’t have a 1st round pick because of the Justin Fields trade. He still came out of it with Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Braxton Jones. Not great but not terrible. This time, he has his own scouting department in place and help from a highly accomplished coaching staff.
Poles promised that the Chicago Bears would not become enslaved to free agency like in previous eras. He aimed to build through the draft and only spend on specific needs. To his credit, he has stuck to that promise for the most part. This past month was further evidence. He is willing to gamble on their draft process to push this team towards a championship. Last year offers hope they’re equipped for the task. We will soon find out how prepared they are for the carnage.