General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson met with the media on Tuesday morning in Indianapolis to kick off the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. With plenty of questions surrounding the team’s plans for the upcoming offseason, each did their best to spell out their plans for another critical acquisition period.
On Tuesday morning in Indianapolis, general manager Ryan Poles and new head coach Ben Johnson each took 15 minutes to meet with the media before the official start of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. As expected, it was all sunshine and roses, and the honeymoon for the Chicago Bears’ new pairing is still in full swing.
It’s been a hectic last two months for the Bears brass. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the team ramped up their head coaching search. After 18 reported interviews, the obvious choice became the obvious hire. Shortly after Johnson was announced, he began assembling his coaching staff, starting with his three coordinators. A few weeks later, his coaching staff was officially announced, which meant the organization could focus on the offseason.
With the fourth most cap space in the league and the sixth most draft capital value, Chicago will again enter a critical offseason. Although they aren’t the talk of the combine this year, all signs point to an aggressive and expensive offseason. With less than two weeks until the official start of the legal negotiation period, there are plenty of questions to be answered.
1. Following up on team president Kevin Warren’s promise of an “aggressive” offseason, Poles seems primed for the most expensive free agent period of his four-year tenure.
Both Poles and Johnson shared similar sentiments regarding the team’s needs versus the strengths of the free agent market and draft class. With close to $80 million in available cap space and four picks in the first 72 of April’s draft, there should be reason for plenty of optimism around Halas Hall heading into the acquisition period.
The good news is that the Bears won’t be short on resources.
The bad news: There’s a lack of top-end talent in the free agent market, and this draft class is regarded as one of the shallowest in the past decade.
That doesn’t mean that Chicago can’t come out of this offseason with a substantially improved team. It just means that it will take the proper aggressive approach and some luck. As of combine week, the Bears rank fourth in the NFL in cap space and sixth in total pick value. For a third straight offseason, this team is armed with plenty of weapons to infuse talent into the roster. With a new coaching staff, a motivated team president, and an empowered general manager, the time is now.
Going back to the lack of talent inside the free agent market, that’s where things could get tough. Half the league has over $40 million in cap space, and every team needs it. With less talent and more money comes extreme competition for the services of many of the Bears’ top needs. That doesn’t mean that Chicago can’t “win” on their top targets, but it does mean that Poles will need to overpay. The Bears have won a combined 15 games over the last three years. Despite the optimism surrounding this fan base, the perception around the league might not be as promising.
Considering how cautious the Bears have been over the last three offseasons, a few “overpays” in free agency shouldn’t severely hamper their future outlook on improving their roster. With quarterback Caleb Williams in Year 2 of his rookie contract, the margin for error in the dangerous waters of free agency is safer than it will ever be when it comes to building a contender.
2. Back to the basics: Johnson’s plan on Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense.
Earlier on Tuesday, Poles was asked about Johnson’s plan for the team’s young quarterback. “I think he wants to start from the foundation and build from there.” There’s no debate that Williams was thrown into a poor situation last year and that his development suffered because of it. Despite having what was viewed as a great situation on the surface, coaching was a big issue.
Former head coach Shane Waldron never had control of the offense and was fired nine weeks into the season. Matt Eberflus, who should have been fired last January, was retained and lost control of the locker room following the Washington Hail Mary loss. The offensive line was a mess. Receivers weren’t consistently getting open. The list goes on, and Williams wasn’t without blame.
Because of that, an offensive mind was a focus during the Bears’ head coaching search. Johnson ran one of the league’s best offenses over the last three seasons. Even more promising, he took quarterback Jared Goff from a throw-in on a big-time trade to a Top 10 quarterback. That was something that not even Sean McVay could do. Now, he’ll be tasked with rebuilding Williams’ mechanics and confidence.
Starting from ground zero is smart. Although Williams is vastly talented and has a bright future in this league, there are a lot of the small details that were overlooked in Year 1. Johnson pointed out cadences and huddle communication as focal points to start. Johnson will get full autonomy over Williams’ development, but he’s brought in an offensive coaching staff around him that he trusts despite not working with many of them in the past.
The process will take time, but Williams, this offense, and this team as a whole are in good hands under Johnson. If things pan out as hoped, this offseason will be one that sticks in the minds of Bears fans for decades to come.
3. Johnson brought up the Carolina Panthers ‘ approach from last year when looking for clues about their plans to rebuild the offensive line. That feels notable.
It’s no secret that the Bears need plenty of help in the trenches. Heading into the offseason, the Bears don’t have a single 2024 Week 1 starting interior offensive lineman under contract. There’s a strong chance that Ryan Bates and Bill Murray will be the only two players under contract heading into free agency from that group. In short, the chances are high that the Bears will look for three interior starters over the next two months.
That’s why I found it interesting when Johnson’s answer when he was asked if it was possible for NFL teams to “rebuild” their offensive lines in one offseason. The team’s first-year head coach immediately noted Carolina’s approach last offseason when they handed out two large contracts to interior linemen. Robert Hunt became the first free agent guard to land a contract of $20 million annually. Shortly after, Carolina gave Damien Lewis a three-year, $53 million contract with $26.215 million guaranteed.
There’s a world in which the Bears could come close to emulating that same approach, whether it’s Trey Smith (a projected $22-24 million per year) and someone in the $10-12 million range like Will Fries, Mekhi Becton, or center Drew Dalman, or something that involves two of the cheaper names and maybe someone like veteran Kevin Zeitler.
The Bears can take plenty of routes to improve their offensive line, but free agency is going to be where their proven talent comes from. It’s important for them to move into the draft with options. Adding two-plus veterans and some additional depth could help alleviate the need for Chicago to reach on someone in Round 1. After all, this team will likely draft at least one offensive lineman in the first two rounds and maybe another with their final four picks.
4. The honeymoon phase between Poles and Johnson is still going strong. Although it’s nice to hear about their current “alignment,” it’s important to recall similar sentiments were shared when Matt Eberflus was hired in 2022.
Alignment, feeling the energy in the room, being one step closer to contention. All of the buzzwords were flying on Tuesday morning at Indianapolis during the combine media tour with the Bears’ general manager and head coach. Don’t get me wrong: It’s great to hear that things are going so smoothly for both men a month in, but isn’t that what should have been expected?
After all, Poles and Eberflus were doing joint interviews during the 2022 combine. Poles went as far as to call Eberflus his “new brother” at the introductory press conference.
In all reality, we won’t know how well Poles and Johnson’s synergy will gel until we see the product on the field. There are many reasons for optimism, but nothing should be gained from a press conference where both men simply feel the good vibes. We’ve heard the same message from Poles since he took over as the team’s general manager four offseasons ago. Culture, integrity, hard-nosed football players, leadership. You name it. It was easy to fall for such buzzwords in 2023 and 2024. This year, it’s time for this franchise to prove it.
One thing that struck me (and ultimately rubbed me the wrong way) was Poles’ willingness to bus-toss Eberflus and his former staff. The general manager lauded Johnson’s football IQ. He claimed that it was easier to go all in on free agency and the draft with a “clearer vision” with the new coaching staff. Yet, these are all things he said about Eberflus just one year ago. His commitment to his former coach never waivered until it did. Despite everyone around the league knowing Eberflus was in over his head, Poles chose to retain a failing defensive-minded head coach who had no business being in charge of a young quarterback’s development.
This isn’t meant to be an indictment of Johnson by any means. By all accounts, Johnson has far exceeded expectations in the early going. He’s more outgoing, more confrontational, and seems to have the “leader of men” qualities that the team so desperately wanted. All I’m saying is that Poles’ words only hold so much weight when we’ve heard them before when describing his first head coach. It’s time to prove it on the field, and that starts with a considerably better and more aggressive approach to acquiring talent this offseason.
5. Even if cuts are done in the interim, don’t be surprised if their current roster changes more over the next few months.
Halfway through Johnson’s presser, he was asked about running back D’Andre Swift. As most know, Swift spent a few years with Johnson during his time with the Lions. He was shipped off to Philadelphia in his contract year, where he enjoyed a career year before signing his three-year, $24 million contract with the Bears last offseason.
Despite Swift being highly drafted by a different regime, Detroit shipped him off for pennies on the dollar after an uneven three-year tenure with the Lions. There’s been plenty of speculation about whether or not Swift would be an ideal fit in Johnson’s offense. Johnson sounded positive about Swift, but what was he supposed to say? Due to the structure of his contract, he’s all but fully guaranteed year No. 2 in Chicago regarding his financial stability.
It’s possible that the Bears could either trade him (which would save $6.67 million) or use a post-June 1st designation when cutting him and save $1.89 million. The most cost-effective move would be a trade, but what team would be willing to take on his remaining guaranteed money for 2025?
With Demarcus Walker and Gerald Everett out the door due to lack of value and a “grey area” regarding schematic fit, most of the Bears’ cap-saving measures are done for now. Because of how Poles and his front office have structured contracts, most cut candidates, like Bates, would come with little-to-no dead money and meaningful savings to their current cap situation. Some of those names could include safety Kevin Byard, kicker Cairo Santos, linebacker T.J. Edwards, or even a smaller splash like safety Jonathan Owens.
Either way, Chicago is flush with cap space, and any attempt to clear additional funds will require minimal effort. That’s a much better spot to be in than they were back in 2022.
