Bears News: Ryan Poles discusses latest roster changes

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - 6 hours ago

CHICAGO - General manager Ryan Poles has not been known for making too many flashy trades around free agency. However, that changed this year with the aggressive pursuits of guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney.

The Bears have now revamped their offensive line with the additions of Jackson and Thuney, as well as center Drew Dalman. Right now, the plan is to start Jackson as right guard and Thuney at left guard with Dalman at center, Darnell Wright staying at right tackle and Braxton Jones staying at the left tackle position.

“I’m proud of the preparation that went into this, our process, as well as our communication between (head coach) Ben (Johnson) and I, our staffs and then most importantly our salary cap folks who (had) some heavy lifting in this one,” Poles said. “Part of our process that a lot of people don’t know, we spend probably bi-weekly, we’ll get together to talk about our finances and where we can spend and how much flexibility we have and that was really started by Kevin and with that openness, it allows us to jump on these opportunities to enhance our football team and I don’t take that lightly at all. So, that communication and that collaboration has been huge.”

In addition to making changes at offensive line, the Bears signed defensive lineman Grady Jarrett and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo. While Jarrett is a seasoned veteran who has been to multiple Pro Bowls as well as playing in Super Bowl LI with the Atlanta Falcons. Odeyingbo is an upcoming young star who played a total of 61 games with the Indianapolis Colts. In that time, he recorded 16.5 sacks and has 17 quarterback hits in each of the past two seasons.

Chicago also made a change at tight end, opting to release Gerald Everett and sign Durham Smythe. Smythe spent his first seven years in the league with the Miami Dolphins, recording a total of 132 receptions and three touchdowns in 112 games. Thus, given his little production, he should not impact Cole Kmet’s role in the offense. His poor production has also shown in his poor Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades as his grade in 2023 was 53.7 and 43.3 in 2024 despite playing in every game.

His addition to the team seems to be more of a risk and certainly not a move that is going to break the bank.

“Just (because) free agency opens up and it looks a certain way, you don’t know if there’s a connection. That player may want to go somewhere else. So, it may not even come down to money. It may be the fit for the player. There’s no guarantees just (because) the board is lined up and you have money to make it happen,” Poles said. “So, you got to really cast a wide net and be opportunistic and see when opportunities pop up … It was just about acquiring the best players that we can.”

While Smythe’s deal may not have a huge impact on the salary cap, the changes to the offensive line will. Jackson, Thuney and Dalman are all among the top-10 highest-paid players on Chicago’s roster. Further, Chicago has not released or traded anyone that was projected to have a heavy cap hit this season. Thus, the Bears seem to find themselves in salary cap trouble and will need to release some players to stay under the cap.