Ryan Poles youth movement could continue for the Chicago Bears with next upcoming decisions
The Chicago Bears are quickly becoming general manager Ryan Poles' ideal roster, which is the goal of any young general manager. While that seems like a good thing, it also creates a lot of pressure on the person making decisions at the top. This offseason will be the most critical period of Poles' career as […]
The Chicago Bears are quickly becoming general manager Ryan Poles' ideal roster, which is the goal of any young general manager.
While that seems like a good thing, it also creates a lot of pressure on the person making decisions at the top. This offseason will be the most critical period of Poles' career as the Bears' general manager and he has to make sure he gets it right.
So far, Poles is continuing on the same path of building his team the way he wants it to be built and the recent release of veteran Pro Bowl safety Eddie Jackson and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair proves that.
While cutting ties with Jackson and Whitehair seemed like an inevitable move considering their cap hits in 2024, it further separates what the Bears will become from what they previously were.
The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 and haven’t won the NFC North since 2018, an achievement Poles has claimed to be the team's goal each of the last two seasons. Following the release of Jackson and Whitehair, the only player on the Bears roster who was on the team the last time they won the NFC North is long snapper Patrick Scales and even he is a pending free agent.
The only notable players currently under contract for the Bears in 2024 that weren’t acquired by Poles over the past two years are quarterback Justin Fields, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, tight end Cole Kmet, running back Khalil Herbert, guard Teven Jenkins, and kicker Cairo Santos, that's really it.
Even from that list, you could exclude Kmet and Santos, each of whom signed long-term deals under Poles and Jenkins who is clearly in the team's long-term plans on the offensive line. Herbert is the interesting one because Poles already drafted Roschon Johnson and found some success in D'Onta Foreman as a free agent signing at the position, even though he won't return next season.
This then leaves us with Fields and Johnson, who are by far the most polarizing players on the Bears roster this offseason. Both players have uncertain futures in Chicago with Poles considering the possibility of trading Fields in favor of a rookie quarterback drafted with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and Johnson currently not under contract after a career season.
It only took two years for Poles to completely gut the Bears roster and start from scratch building his team and that process becomes expedited this offseason. While Johnson seems like he will more than likely be back for at least the 2024 season on a franchise tag, Fields should be expected to be traded in the coming weeks.
With a new hand picked quarterback running the team, Poles will have hand-picked over 80 percent of the team's roster in just three years as the general manager. That's an impressive and also troubling level of roster turnover that could put Poles on thin ice in terms of needing his players to perform quickly. It's never a bad thing to bet on yourself but this takes it to an entirely different level.
The Bears are looking to be an extremely young team with lofty expectations to show up going into the 2024 season and the jobs of the entire front office and coaching staff could be riding on the backs of those players entering a crucial prove it year.
Bears releasing former Pro Bowl safety Eddie Jackson to help save cap space for 2024 offseason
The Bears are saving money.
