Bear Digest

Bears named among teams 'trying to get it right' as 2025 NFL season approaches

In a recent ranking of every NFL team's commitment to winning a Super Bowl, the Chicago Bears were lumped into a frustrating tier of tryhards.

Bryan Perez

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It's been a long time since confidence in the Chicago Bears front office has been this high. Perhaps that's what happens when a team aggressively hires the NFL's top head coaching candidate and wastes no time trading for and signing players who cost top dollar at their position, as GM Ryan Poles did in his effort to fix the offensive line this offseason.

Still, it's difficult to fully believe in the Bears' commitment to winning. It's been a long, long time since Chicago was a viable Super Bowl contender, and despite having such a strong presence in the NFL's history, the Bears only have one Lombardi Trophy on display. And it's 40 years old.

Regardless, the Bears deserve credit for at least trying this offseason, and in a recent ranking by The Athletic of all 32 NFL teams' desire to win a title, Chicago was grouped with the clubs that are "trying to get it right."

Seems like a fair assessment.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles walks laps around the field before their game
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"GM Ryan Poles repeatedly receives the green light for some aggressive moves as he works to rebuild one of the league’s iconic franchises, and the Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams union could prove transformational," wrote The Athletic's Mike Jones. "The pieces seemingly are in place. Is this the year the payoff comes for the Halas family?"

To be fair, the Bears drafted Caleb Williams. Any team with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft would've done the same thing. Poles certainly deserves credit for setting the stage for that selection via the trade with the Carolina Panthers one year earlier, but the real proof of Chicago's commitment to winning is the Johnson hire.

There's a palpable buzz around this Bears team in 2025. The roster, highlighted by Williams entering his second season, is very strong. They have a rebuilt offensive line and an opportunity to draft the best player available at No. 10 overall in the upcoming NFL Draft.

And, again, Ben Johnson is the head coach.

So, yeah, the Bears are definitely trying to get it right. Perhaps, next year this time, they'll jump into "contention mode" on The Athletic's list.

First, they have to win some games. And that comes down to Johnson and the roster doing their part on the field.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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