Bear Digest

Grading Ryan Poles' Month of Chicago Bears Free Agency

Analysis: Bears GM Ryan Poles sought draft flexibility with his signings in a month of free agency but he did achieve it?

Gene Chamberlain

Ryan Poles sought to make the Bears flexible for the draft during free agency but did he really?
Ryan Poles sought to make the Bears flexible for the draft during free agency but did he really? / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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It's been one full month since free agency began and, as such, a proper time to take account of what Bears GM Ryan Poles accomplished with what started as the fifth-most effective salary cap space at $46 million. 

There is more involved in free agency than signing players who enter the unrestricted market. It's a matter of managing expenditures by signing your own free agents, those in the unrestricted free agent market and players brought in via trade.

GM Ryan Poles had a goal and felt like he achieved it.

"What we've done in free agency allows us to be flexible (in the draft), to really be able to take the best player, the one we feel fits for us in that spot,” Poles said.

Did they really do this?

Here's how Poles grades out at the month mark for free agency.

There could still be a few minor additions. Last year they actually added Yannick Ngakoue in training camp after it became apparent their idea bout interior pass rush taking pressure off the edge wouldn't fly.

The year before they had to bring in tackle and guard support at the start of camp because of the inexperience on the line. So more players could be added but they'd be at a low rate with only $10.7 million left under the cap.

Retaining Bears Free Agents: A-

Retaining Jaylon Johnson had to be done at all costs considering his status among the game's best cornerbacks, if not as the best. There was no way they were losing him after applying the franchise tag.

But to come up with the cash very quickly at $76 million over four years showed the total faith they had in him. It's also a case where Johnson was entirely reasonable and didn't try to hold up the bank, so to speak. The rate was fair because he had drawbacks, like lack of interceptions until last year and plenty of missed games due to injuries. Still, he is high quality and Poles signed him for the cash even though he wasn't a player drafted by this regime, and even with two or three other young cornerbacks who could have similar skill levels in the future.

They showed the same decisiveness late season in locking up Cairo Santos, Cole Kmet and Andrew Billings with deals before they could hit this year's free agent market.

Retaining long snapper Patrick Scales was another move they made.

The departure of Darnell Mooney was unavoidable once Atlanta wanted to give him $39 million for three years. That's a high price for a player who is coming off two straight years of career-lows in catches.

The one negative for Poles in signing or letting his own free agents leave was Justin Jones. It's not that Jones was an exceptional player and he probably maxed out by getting a three-year, $30 million Arizona deal, but the alternative is using two second-year defensive tackles who haven't proven a thing yet, Zacch Pickens and Gervon Dexter. 

Former Bears Eddie Jackson, Yannick Ngakoue, Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, Robert Tonyan Jr., Rasheem Green, Marcedes Lewis, Equanimeous St. Brown, Trent Taylor and Dylan Cole are all free agents who weren't retained or were cut by the Bears and apparently the right decisions were made as these players all remain unsigned one month after free agency.

UFAs in the Marketplace: C

The big UFA signing was D'Andre Swift, who wasn't really among elite running backs available at $24 million over three years. He's versatile and talented, but not Saquon Barkley.        

The lower cost did let the Bears remain eligible for bigger things at receiver and other positions.

Poles generally approached the UFA marketplace as a way to bring in low-cost free agents on one-year contracts, the prove-it type of thing he did extensively in 2022. This was a bit surprising considering the money they had available.

After signing relatively inexpensive starting safety Kevin Byard ($15 million, 2 years) and No. 2 tight end Gerald Everett ($12 million, 2 years) as replacements for players no longer with the team, he signed backup safety Jonathan Owens for two years and $4.75 million, and backups Amen Ogbongemiga ($2.1 million), edge Jake Martin ($1.29 million, guard/tackle Matt Pryor ($1.175 million), receiver Dante Pettis ($1.125 million) and tackle Jake Curhan ($1.05 million) all for one year.

Center Coleman Shelton was another bargain at one year and $3 million but could be the starter. Numerous other more expensive center choices in free agency were graded higher by Pro Football Focus and NFL.com.

Trades: B-

It appears Poles misjudged the market for Justin Fields, and then could have had better compensation but didn't take it in order to let Fields go somewhere on his "desired team" list, according to an ESPN report. If Poles never said a thing about Fields before free agency and right up to the draft, it's difficult to see how they couldn't have fielded better offers. what Poles did by immediately saying he wanted to do right by Fields was put himself at a disadvantage in talks with other GMs. They knew he was desperate to deal away the QB. A veteran GM like, say, the Eagles' Howie Roseman wouldn't have made a mistake like that. Chalk this up to inexperience.

At the opposite end of the spectrum were the trades for both Ryan Bates and Keenan Allen.

Bates is a guard/center they had highly graded dating back two years and tried to get then. To acquire a player who can be a challenger to Shelton as starter or back up at guard or even start at guard is always a plus. They gave up only a fifth-round pick for Bates. So far in two Poles drafts, they've only pulled in one starter from the fifth round or later, so a fifth-rounder is little to give for a valuable player who is making less than $4.5 million a year.

The Allen trade is even better. Acquiring a player of Pro Bowl status, healthy but 32 years old, for a fourth-round pick isn't a steal. However, it is the kind of move they can benefit from even if he has only one year left on his contract. This one year could allow him to help mentor a drafted receiver while he contributes as a valuable target for their rookie QB. And there's nothing saying it has to be for only one year, either, as they have the cap space for an extension.

Overall: B-

You like to think they could have added even more star power rather than just depth with some of their abundance of salary cap cash.

At some offensive line positions where money was spent, they had depth anyway.

The biggest flaw in what Poles did during free agency is he left too much on the shoulders of Pickens and Dexter to produce immediately this year at defensive tackle, and too big of a need at right defensive end for someone who can come in and deliver sacks from Day 1.

When there is an obvious talent deficiency in a particular area, but the chance to take an elite wide receiver in the first round of the draft, instead, the GM didn't do as complete of a job at covering every available need to make his team as flexible in the draft as he thought.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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