The Chicago Bears have a daunting task ahead of themselves this offseason to address the biggest need on the roster heading into the 2025 season.

That need is of course overhauling with offensive line in front of quarterback Caleb Williams, with 3/5 starters potentially getting replaced in the coming weeks.

But, replacing those three starters is just the beginning, if 2024 proved anything.

"We want a physical group," head coach Ben Johnson said while speaking at the 2025 NFL Combine. "Alright, it starts with that… And it's not even just going to be five. The last few years, it ends up being six, seven, eight, nine guys end up playing significant number of snaps. So, we've got to find those five best guys, but we also have to get a good bullpen, if you will, ready to go to go in at a moment's notice."

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Luckily, the Bears' top two decision makers in Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles believe the supply matches up well to the team's demands, in terms of the players available to add this offseason.

Replacing three starters while building up the depth up-front is going to be a tough task, but it's not an impossible one given the team's stockpile of resources.

The Bears have plenty of cap space needed to aggressively pursue some top names in free agency, along with eight selections in April's draft to add even more pieces.

And it seems like they have the perfect example to follow in terms of overhauling the offensive line with outside additions.

"I think it's been done before, right? I think there's a number of teams that did that last year," Johnson added. "The [Carolina] Panthers come to mind when they went out in free agency and got a couple top guards and really changed the dynamic of their offense. And you saw them clicking there in the second half the season, once they started to really gel. So there's no question that you can change the dynamic of a room just like that.

"In that particular room, it does take a little bit of time for five guys to come together, especially if you have to deal with the attrition and the injuries, for five guys to be working on the same page… That doesn't necessarily mean we need five new starters, because all it takes is one individual to blow up a play. We're just identifying where we can get a little bit better, and we're going to continue to raise that floor, and we'll find the right mix of five to eight, nine, ten, guys."

Looking back at the Panthers' situation, you see how this could be feasible. In 2023, the Panthers' starting line was Ikem Ekwonu, Brady Christensen, Bradley Bozeman, Austin Corbett, and Taylor Moton. Flash forward to 2024, the starting front looked like this: Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Cade Mays, Robert Hunt, and Taylor Moton.

The Panthers were able to overhaul their unit by spending big to land Lewis and Hunt in free agency, two of the top interior protectors on the market. And then, the team was still able to add Yosh Nijman as a depth piece to go along with what they had.

How would the Bears make a similar turnaround work? By first being willing to spend big on free agents such as Trey Smith and Drew Dalman and then complimenting those big signings by adding cheaper players like Kevin Zeitler or Evan Brown.

we spoke to Bears GM Ryan Poles for NFL Daily. He indicated they are ready to start spending on OL in free agency

— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) February 25, 2025

After that, there's the 2025 draft, where the Bears could target a top offensive lineman in the first-round or find a diamond in the rough in a later-round prospect.

Overhauling this unit is a necessity, and one that is entirely possible if the organization plays out the next few weeks the right way.

Bears Ryan Poles made it clear he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to fix the team’s biggest need going into free agency

Seems like they plan to be big spenders.