INDIANAPOLIS — Narratives can shift quickly in the NFL, and that certainly has been the case for the Chicago Bears over the last year.
When they arrived for the scouting combine in 2025, the franchise had a curious element of the unknown. New coach Ben Johnson had declared the organization a “sleeping giant.” General manager Ryan Poles, at least from an outside perspective, had managed to hang on to his job somehow and not be swept out in a complete regime overhaul. Folks with many questions about former No. 1 pick Caleb Williams far outnumbered those who were certain his career would take off after a rocky rookie season.
Now, after an 11-6 season, an NFC North title and a playoff victory, Johnson has respect from all corners of the league, Poles’ position is well-secured and Williams’ career arc is headed in the direction the Bears desire.
Unloading the notebook with 10 thoughts as we peek ahead to free agency, the draft and much more.
1. One way to gauge what free agency will look like in a few weeks is to talk to the agents.
It’s the hallway and lobby version of the question that seemingly every player is asked in the convention center: Did you meet with the Bears? Between scouts visiting campuses, various all-star games and, yes, the combine, every team meets with every player.
Not every agent meets with every team each year at the combine. I ran into more than a handful of veteran agents with many pending free agents who didn’t have a meeting with the Bears scheduled.
Yes, plenty of them indicated they planned to get together with the Bears front office over the course of the week. But when a team is positioned to be a big player in free agency — and the Bears have been in that position many times over the last decade — just about every agent has that team on their dance card. That’s simply not the case this year with the Bears.
Ryan Poles put down some bread crumbs at the end of the season when he referred to “constraints” the team would have this year with the salary cap. He elaborated on that this week with the Bears slightly over the projected cap with less than two weeks until the new league year starts March 11.
The idea was overplayed in some spaces that the Bears would push their chips all-in on the 2026 season with Caleb Williams still on his rookie contract. Roster construction becomes more challenging when a quarterback is on a huge deal, but as I pointed out in a mailbag earlier this month, since the rookie wage scale was implemented 15 years ago, only two quarterbacks have won the Super Bowl while on their original contract: Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes. Each accomplished the feat once.
The Bears’ cap situation is such that “2026 or broke” doesn’t make sense, and a clear picture of their goals is required to understand how they are planning at Halas Hall. Poles will make stuff happen in free agency. The Bears will be adding players, but they might start with some of their own. Often the best money teams spend in free agency is to prevent their own players from leaving.
“We have to clear some room there,” Poles said. “So we have to be strategic. We need to be really smart with the guardrails we put up.”
The Bears made it clear they were spending the week on fact-finding missions to determine how many options they have to create cap flexibility. Then they can huddle next week and start prioritizing how they want to act. Poles talked about being organized and having a series of reports from vice president of administration Matt Feinstein for every possible scenario. The goal is to be nimble so they can act quickly if there’s a move they want to execute.
There are a lot of questions to answer, especially on defense. We’ll wade through some of the potential answers in a little bit. It’s fair to wonder how they can challenge again in 2026 without being somewhat aggressive, considering needs at linebacker, safety, potentially cornerback and on the defensive line. That’s without even addressing left tackle or anything else on offense.
“It’s just the sustainability,” Poles said. “How can we stay flexible and how can we be successful, take advantage of this quarterback window but also set ourselves up to continue to win.
“I mentioned this earlier in one of the interviews. I’ve got a head coach that wants to sustain success and win for a long period of time. I have a quarterback who continues to progress and he wants to be one of the best to ever do it and win a lot of championships. With that model, we have to be very conscious of how we put this team together, but we want to win championships now. We want to be able to have that flexibility to continue to win down the road.”
That’s the needle the Bears are trying to thread. Poles is working to strengthen the roster for right now and into the future, and that’s best accomplished via the draft. We’ll see what other transactions happen to free the cap space the team needs.
Nearly all contracts for veteran players include what are called conversion rights, meaning the Bears, at their discretion, can restructure a contract to create cap savings by turning some of the base salary for the current season into a bonus payment. There could be a series of those this year. Go to that well too often, however, and future cap situations can get messy.
“There’s philosophical things that we believe in, in terms of not getting to this place where we’re kicking the can down the road on a bunch of guys and then at some point you’ve got to pay that bill,” Poles said. “And you don’t want that to be the reason why you’re not flexible and able to do unique things or take advantage of opportunities with your roster.”
2. The Las Vegas Raiders are doing everything they can to get maximum value for Maxx Crosby.
They’re saying all the right things about the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end being a special player and about the desire to keep him as new coach Klint Kubiak gets started. That has to be to drive up the price in a trade for Crosby, who turns 29 in August.
Raiders GM John Spytek said there are numerous examples of teams that have been rebuilt on the fly. The New England Patriots won four games in 2024 and just played in the Super Bowl. Spytek cited the Washington Commanders reaching the NFC championship game in the 2024 season after having the second pick in the draft that year.
Folks I’ve talked to don’t buy it.
“What’s the three-year plan?” a GM for another team asked. “The Raiders have the No. 1 pick and they have needs everywhere on that roster. They are so many players away from being there. How do you get that? When they turn it around, Crosby is either not going to be a part of it or he’s going to be on his last legs.”
Alas, I do not expect the Bears to be in the Crosby sweepstakes, assuming that happens before the draft. In a vacuum, it’s a great idea. In the first half of the Week 4 game in Las Vegas, Crosby displayed how much of a menace he is down in and down out. He was chasing Caleb Williams out of the pocket with regularity.
In the big picture, it hasn’t been a realistic idea from the jump, especially if the Raiders can get anything close to what the Dallas Cowboys got for a younger and (at the time) healthier Micah Parsons: two first-round picks and a very good though aging defensive tackle in Kenny Clark. Not with the salary-cap situation and not when you look at the roster and where the Bears want to get it.
Let’s do a little exercise and look at a potential 2028 depth chart. Yes, a LOT can happen in two years, but follow along. These are the players under contract:
Offense
- QB: Caleb Williams (the Bears have a fifth-year option in his contract for 2028)
- RB: Kyle Monangai
- TE: Colston Loveland
- WR: Rome Odunze (fifth-year option), Luther Burden III
Notes: Luke Newman has a chance to be an interior starter on the line by then, and he’s under contract. And if Ozzy Trapilo bounces back from his knee injury, there’s a chance he’s the left tackle then. You can add right tackle Darnell Wright to this depth chart too. He’s not under contract for 2028, but he’s a building block for the future. Wide receiver DJ Moore also is under contract that year, but he probably won’t be around then. All in all, there are parts to work with. If one of Newman or Trapilo pans out, that could be as many as seven starters in place for 2028. Maybe Monangai would be sharing the backfield, but you get the point.
Defense
- CB: Kyler Gordon
Notes: Gordon is signed through 2028 and has to bounce back and prove he can stay healthy and maintain a high level of play to reach the end of the contract, which he signed last spring. That’s all I’m comfortable listing on a 2028 depth chart right now — and, again, he has a lot to prove between now and then. Defensive lineman Shemar Turner, linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and cornerback Zah Frazier are signed through 2028. Where they factor by then, it’s impossible to say.
Let’s say a bold trade for Crosby costs two first-round picks: one in 2026 and one in 2027. That would make stocking the defense for the future even more challenging. For as many spots as the Bears have to fill on that side of the ball right now, there will be more vacancies a year from now.
The Bears need their 2026 draft to do for the defense what the 2025 class did for the offense. The sample size is small, but the synergy between the scouting and coaching staffs was apparent last year. That’s a credit to Ryan Poles and his staff and Ben Johnson and his assistants. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen did well, especially with players he or his assistants had backgrounds with. The Bears need building blocks on that side of the ball if they’re going to create the sustainability they desire.
3. You can make a strong case that defensive tackle is the No. 1 need for 2026.
That’s based on the current projected depth chart and without considering what will be available in free agency and the draft. Defensive end has gotten more attention because it’s clear to everyone the pass rush needs to be ramped up, and edge rusher is the first position you think about when talking about the pass rush.
But the Bears have Montez Sweat and Austin Booker at end with Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner returning from injuries. That’s assuming the Bears keep Turner, a second-round pick last year, at end. They experimented with him a little to see where he fit best, and it looked like end would be his home before he suffered a torn ACL.
On the interior, the Bears have Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter Sr. under contract. That’s it — and that’s just one reason you shouldn’t believe the Bears are considering trading Dexter. The front office surely is considering a lot, but even if Dexter isn’t a great long-term fit, the team isn’t in a position where it can subtract a durable and athletic performer.
There’s serious need at both positions, but if you’re ordering one over the other, tackle has to be on top. Considering it’s a deep draft for edge rushers — and not as deep at tackle — this is a good place to start when wondering about the No. 25 pick.
Some college evaluators I spoke with believe there could be a good clump of defensive linemen on the board when the Bears’ pick comes around. The best fit for Dennis Allen might be Clemson’s Peter Woods. Allen wants a disruptive guy in the middle. It’s why the team signed Jarrett a year ago and why it initially played Turner on the inside.
Woods can be that active guy in the middle, and that’s why I’d have him a peg above Ohio State’s Kayvon McDonald, Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter, Georgia’s Christen Miller, Florida’s Caleb Banks or anybody else. Woods had 14½ sacks in three seasons at Clemson with 8½ coming in 2024.
Whether Woods makes it to No. 25 is a good question. Draft boards are a long way from being set, but an informal poll of college scouts I chatted with seemed to indicate it might be unlikely.
Want to hold out some hope? In a bad draft for quarterbacks, the Bears need other positions to be pushed up the board. It would benefit them if there was a rush on left tackles in the first 24 picks and if some wide receivers leave the combine with some steam.
One scout said Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling is the kind of player who will have more buzz after this week. Find a few more players like that, and it could create more defensive line choices for the Bears. I wouldn’t rule out an offensive tackle for them in Round 1, but I think that’s a little unlikely and my focus is on the defense.
McDonald is a very strong run defender, but there are doubts he will offer much in terms of a pass rush. Hunter “has some real juice to him,” per one college scouting director, but isn’t as twitched up as Woods, who measured 6-foot-2½, 298 pounds.
Woods’ arms are on the shorter side at 31¼ inches, but that’s the case with a lot of interior linemen — although not Banks, who came in at 6-6¼, 327 pounds with 35-inch arms. Banks missed most of last season with a broken foot. His ceiling is immense. His floor is what teams will work hard to determine.
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Woods was asked to name his top five NFL defensive tackles in no order.
“These are just guys that I kind of see,” he said. “Give me Quinnen Williams, Jeffery Simmons, Jalen Carter. I’ve got to go DeForest Buckner in there. I don’t know, Byron Murphy really impressed me in the playoffs. I’ve got to put him in there too.”
That’s interesting because one personnel man said Woods profiles somewhat similar to Murphy, a 2024 first-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks who had seven sacks in the regular season last year and two more during the Seahawks’ march to a Super Bowl title. Woods is a really good player to keep an eye on. Just be mindful he might not make it to No. 25.
4. The Bears have used a first-round pick in the 20s just twice since they selected tight end Greg Olsen 31st in 2007.
Olsen was a pretty good pick. The Bears chose offensive linemen Gabe Carimi at No. 29 in 2011 and Kyle Long at No. 20 in 2013. That’s it for lower selections in Round 1 since Olsen.
The Bears had the 20th pick in 2021 but traded up to choose quarterback Justin Fields. There have been five drafts since 2007 that they didn’t have a first-round pick while paying off trades for Jay Cutler, Khalil Mack and Fields. More on that Fields trade in a moment.
The question I had is whether or anything shifts when a team is picking near the end of the round instead of the top 10, where the Bears regularly have been? I got some interesting replies.
“Your process doesn’t change,” a national scout said. “You are still going to do your due diligence on everybody just to figure out who you think is going to be there in the 20s and then just in case someone were to slip through. Like Laremy Tunsil. I think he went like 13th (in 2016) but he was supposed to go top five. You need to be prepared for that.
“With the actual selection, you can be a little bit more risky in theory, but at the same time, if you’re in the 20s, you feel like you’re close so you don’t want to take too much risk because you want to get a player that is going to help you this year. Really, I think sometimes in the early to mid-20s is where you get your best value.
“Sometimes you feel like, ‘I can’t take this guard at eight or 10,’ but that guard might be a top-10 player. Or it could be a safety or a position like that. So sometimes you can take the best player at a position when you’re near the end of Round 1. There are obviously premium positions, but every position matters. You can get really good players at that level where you might be taking the fourth cornerback in the mid-teens or the fifth D-lineman or the third offensive tackle. You can get a really good player at that level.”
Said a college scouting director: “Instead of having to have seven guys on the board that you would take, now you have to have 15 or 25 that you’d like there. You get to a point where you’re like, ‘We don’t have 25 players we like in the first round.’ Then you start thinking about moving back, get some value.
“It depends where they think their team is. Are you close? Do you have flexibility in free agency? You can take more risks late in the first round, but it depends on your mindset. ‘We’re not going to take risks in the first round. We don’t have any cash. We have to hit on our first-round pick, so we don’t have the luxury of taking a really good athlete and hoping he hits and trying to develop him over time.’”
The first thing an assistant general manager mentioned was looking to trade down.
“We would try to go back,” he said, “just because if you’re at 25, yes, you like the fifth-year option if you’re staying in the first round, but if I can get an extra third- or fourth-round pick to go from 25 to 33, there’s a chance I get the same player, right? At that point (No. 25), it’s starting to get to where across the league, boards are looking different. I’ve got this guy a little bit higher and you had him a little lower.
“Then you’re getting to the point, too, where it’s about team needs or targeted players, maybe like the Bears picking Luther Burden last year. Whatever the case may be. The top 10? We’ve all got those same players. When it gets to the back of Round 1, you need to be a little open to navigation. ‘We like Player X and we’ll take him at No. 25, no problem.’ You have to look at it from a get-stuck standpoint. If we get stuck at 25 — no one is trading with us — who are we happy with? Ideally, though, we’d like to get to 29 or 30, pick up a little something and maybe get the same player.”
When looking at how often the Bears had picked in the 20s, I came across the 2022 draft, in which they didn’t have a first-round pick as part of the deal with the New York Giants to move up for Fields. It was the first time Giants GM Dave Gettleman had traded down in the first round, and the deal was too good to pass up.
The Bears struggled in Year 1 with Fields, giving the Giants the seventh pick the next year. They blew it, choosing Alabama offensive lineman Evan Neal. But check out the next seven picks — it’s a really good crop of players:
- 8. Falcons: WR Drake London
- 9. Seahawks: LT Charles Cross
- 10. Jets: WR Garrett Wilson
- 11. Saints: WR Chris Olave
- 12. Lions: WR Jameson Williams
- 13. Eagles: DT Jordan Davis
- 14. Ravens: S Kyle Hamilton
Ryan Poles said he wants to remain disciplined now that he’s outside the top 10 and near the bottom of the round.
“You can go get a flashy guy that may not (have) the wiring in terms of culture fit,” Poles said. “(That) isn’t the right thing to do. You take a chance there. Or he flashes or they are a young player and you’re going to project this crazy growth.
“I think taking good football players at 25. I think back to the Steelers, I think back to the Ravens and some of these teams that were able to put really good rosters together and draft well late. Those guys aren’t sexy. They’re just good, hearty football players. So that’s what we’re going to focus on. I think that will put our team in the best position to be successful.”
5. Here’s a name I wouldn’t have guessed would have a lot of steam at this time of year.
But according to a variety of folks across the league whom I chatted with this week, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Logan Hall is projected to have a robust market in free agency. It reminds me of conversations I had a year ago in which people gave a heads up that defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo would do very well for himself in free agency.
I don’t know if the Bears will be in on Hall. They would need to create some cap space, but a guy from another NFC team told me point blank: “Logan Hall is going to have a huge market.” He won’t be the hottest player when free agency opens and he’ll be far from getting the largest contract, but after some additional poking around, yes, there’s buzz about Hall.
A second-round pick out of Houston in 2022, Hall is 6-6, 283 pounds, so he can profile as a lot of different things for a lot of different schemes. Some teams will be looking at him as a tackle, and that’s where he had 5½ sacks in 2024. He’s best as a rusher when he’s on the inside. He’d probably be an end for Dennis Allen, but again, I don’t know how the Bears will stack up their wish list. If they have the cap space, Hall looks like the kind of guy they might take a run at.
Where will the market go for Hall, who has been durable, missing only two games over four seasons? Something approaching $10 million per season wouldn’t be a surprise. We’ll see how things shake out for him in less than two weeks.
6. Defensive line, secondary, linebacker and left tackle are all spots where the Bears need to improve if they want to build off their 2025 season.
But to get where they really want to go, they probably need the most improvement from quarterback Caleb Williams. That’s not a knock on him by any means. But if they want to crack open the kind of competitive window in which they’re in the mix of teams that can challenge on an annual basis for five seasons or more, Williams has to grow a ton.
Because there was immense growth in Year 1 with Ben Johnson and his staff, there’s reason to believe that will happen, and Johnson and Ryan Poles were strong in their statements this week.
“I hope eventually to have a quarterback situation, too, where we’ve got to pay a young quarterback,” Poles said. “I think we’re getting closer and closer to clarity on that side of things.”
Williams is signed through 2027, and the team holds a fifth-year option for 2028. The soonest he could sign an extension would be after the 2026 season. Speculating on that without knowing what half of his playing time under Johnson will look like is a waste of time. Understanding the timeline for everything isn’t.
Johnson talked about how he was struck by Williams’ ability to adapt to small coaching points in a short period of time last season.
“There is no question there will be some throws last year that he needs to complete or give a more catchable ball at a higher rate,” Johnson said. “He’ll be the first one to tell you that. We as a coaching staff take a lot of pride in trying to get the primary guy open, and if we are able to do that, he’s going to come through and make that throw. And then if we can’t do that for him from a coaching perspective or a play-calling perspective, then he makes us right. That’s where his magical talent can be the ultimate eraser for us and fixer.
“So it’s the balance between the two, and I’m looking forward to, mechanically, he was learning some different things with his footwork. It actually looked more comfortable than I would have thought (in) Year 1, and yet I really think a full offseason of really drawing that down home is going to help him become more accurate moving forward.”
If there is a Year 3 leap — and that’s when Josh Allen really took off in Buffalo — the Bears will be in a good position in which remaining questions about the position have been answered. They won a handful of games with incredible plays in the closing moments. If half of those wild events don’t go their way — like the blocked field goal in Las Vegas or the huge kickoff return at Minnesota — they’re not a playoff team in 2025.
It was an eye-opening first year together for Johnson and Williams, and there’s curiosity around the league as to what it will look like in September.
7. Ben Johnson has said repeatedly he would love to run it back with every player from 2025. He felt that strongly about the group.
That’s not how it works — Johnson said as much — but the Bears will be trying to make things work with some players coming out of contract while, at the same time, considering a variety of options involving other players who are signed.
We’ll see how much cap space the Bears begin the new league year with. They’ll have to make some moves, and it’s possible they create space as needed once they’re rolling. In many of these cases, the Bears might encourage the players to see what their value is on the open market and then determine if a deal can be made.
Here’s intel I have gathered or hunches on players in this mix:
QB Tyson Bagent: The Bears let it be known they’ll take calls on Bagent, whom Johnson holds in high regard. It probably would take a second-round pick (or two picks equaling that value) to make it worthwhile for the Bears. The New York Jets are in the market for a starter and could be looking to go the budget route after sinking $30 million guaranteed into Justin Fields. I’m not sure a team would offer a Round 2 pick for Bagent. It’s worth noting the Bears have had meetings with agents representing some No. 2-type quarterbacks, so they’re putting contingency plans in place.
WR DJ Moore: The Bears can love the player and what he brings to the field and the locker room and also embrace the idea of being able to trade him to create cap space. Both can be true. Moore is well-regarded around the league for the reasons the Bears like him. He’s durable. He’s a solid locker-room presence. He’s tough on the field. Moore is owed $24.5 million this season, and on the third day of the league year, $15.5 million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed. That led some personnel men to conclude it will be challenging to trade him — if the Bears go in that direction. One source was relatively confident the Bears could find a taker for Moore and might be able to get a Day 2 pick in return. Perhaps some creativity would be required to swing a deal in which the Bears paid down some of the money. They would trade Moore only to try to improve in 2026. In my opinion, that doesn’t mean flipping him for a draft pick. That means trading him to create cap space with a clear plan for how to use the added space. The pick helps, but it would be about subtracting Moore to add a player the Bears believe can be of greater immediate help.
LB Tremaine Edumunds: The Bears granted him permission to seek a trade, but I doubt one materializes. He likely will be released before March 11, a move that would create $15 million in cap savings.
FS Kevin Byard III: I get the sense there’s optimism a deal can be struck after his All-Pro season. After he earned $15 million over the last two seasons, I’d expect Byard to get a raise, maybe close to $10 million annually. I don’t think he wants to start over with a rebuilding team, so if he’s taking offers from other teams, he will prioritize winners. Byard had a good relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel when they were together in Tennessee. If the Bears can’t get something done with Byard, the best safety headed to market is the Indianapolis Colts’ Nick Cross, according to a sampling of pro scouts. A contract for Cross could approach $15 million per season.
LT Braxton Jones: The Bears are in a pinch because they need a left tackle, and while they hope Ozzy Trapilo will return from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee late in the season, there’s no guarantee he’ll see the field in 2026. Either way they need a starter for more than half the season, and if that player is not named Theo Benedet, he’s not currently under contract. That’s where Jones could come into play. He had a forgettable contract year returning from a fractured fibula. A one-year, prove-it deal for about $5 million would give him a chance to restore his market value.
LB D’Marco Jackson: We’ll see how much interest Jackson gets around the league. The Bears won’t sink as much money into this position as they have. If they can bring back Jackson on a modest deal ($3 million to $4 million per year), use a mid-round pick on a linebacker and then find the 2026 version of Jackson — a player they can sign to a minimum deal in April or later — they would have overhauled the position with cap savings from Edmunds’ exit to apply at other positions.
CB Nahshon Wright: The Bears probably would love to have him back, but they can’t afford everyone. His price tag could land in the range of about $7 million per year, maybe a touch higher. He’s scheme-specific, so he won’t be a candidate for everyone. The ball production jumps out. Without Wright, the Bears have a need unless they have more faith in Tyrique Stevenson than you’d think after last season. Other options for bigger cornerbacks who fit Dennis Allen’s profile include Jaylen Watson (Kansas City Chiefs), Cor’Dale Flott (Giants) and Jamel Dean (Buccaneers). Watson probably will get the most money out of that group and might be pricier than Wright.
QB Case Keenum: The Bears highly valued what he brought to the room. They probably would like him back. They have to create savings in some areas. As I pointed out above, they’re exploring QB options.
DE Daniel Hardy: I’ve thought for a while something like the two-year, $5 million contract Josh Blackwell got last season would make good sense for the rugged special teams performer. Gunners typically get a little more, so maybe the Bears would come in a little lower than $5 million for two years. The only issue is if the Bears re-sign Hardy, they might have a second defensive player who is almost strictly special teams. But keeping Hardy is a good move. I don’t anticipate he will be tendered as a restricted free agent, and he’s likely to have suitors.
TE Durham Smythe: He was a good fit and Johnson knew he would be after their time together in Miami. He’s a decent possibility to be back if the money is close to the $2.5 million he made last season. Keep tight end on the radar as a potential Day 3 draft pick too.
S Jaquan Brisker: I don’t believe the Bears will try to re-sign him. He should have a healthy market, but this is a position where there are always ample choices with experience.
Players who could return on one-year deals: Returner Devin Duvernay, long snapper Scott Daly, guard Jordan McFadden and maybe defensive end Dominique Robinson if he has a slow market.
That’s piecing together what I’ve been able to rustle up from the hallways and lobbies.
8. The Bears’ statement about Indiana on Feb. 19 really took off.
Breathless accounting of the action by some provided the team with exactly what it hoped for: Folks were up in arms and stressing out over the possibility the team indeed will head to Hammond for the “world-class” stadium President/CEO Kevin Warren has been talking about since the day he was hired.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a bill into law Thursday to create the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority. Meanwhile, the wheels are turning in Illinois again with some progress toward the one thing the Bears have demanded from the get-go: a megaprojects bill that would deliver them tax certainty.
I’m not here for the political back-and-forth. You get enough people trying to pull your leg and sell you a bunch of nonsense covering football as it is. I believe the Bears hoped the addition of Indiana as a legitimate option (however likely you believe it is) would create outrage in Illinois and lead to pressure on lawmakers to make something happen.
Here’s what I can tell you: The league believes that progress is very much headed in the right direction in Illinois and that Arlington Heights will emerge as the team’s future home. It’s not done yet, but there’s reason for optimism and the preference at that level is for the Bears to remain in Illinois if possible.
9. It wasn’t a surprise when Ryan Poles said the Bears had “communicated through the right channels” about compensatory picks for Ian Cunningham’s departure.
It makes sense. The Bears won’t find out if they don’t ask the NFL to reverse course and award them a third-round pick this year and another in 2027 as part of the Rooney Rule after the Atlanta Falcons hired the Bears assistant general manager as their GM.
“It will be up to the league and how they see it,” Poles said.
Poles believes the Bears deserve the extra picks. Cunningham said the same thing. As best I understand it, neither franchise believes there’s a great chance the league will shift its stance on the situation. The Bears can hold out hope though.
The NFL has deemed president of football Matt Ryan to be the Falcons’ “primary football executive.” All parties involved were aware. There’s not an apples-to-apples comparison between the two front offices because president of football is not a position the Bears — or most teams — have.
Cunningham interviewed for that job before Ryan was hired. Had Cunningham been hired as president of football in Atlanta, yes, the Bears would have been awarded the two comp picks.
The way the rule is written, there can’t be two front-office positions in one organization that qualify for compensatory picks. It’s the same way comp picks are awarded only to teams that develop minority assistant coaches who are hired away to become a head coach. Comp picks aren’t handed out for coordinator hires or assistant head coaches. The rule applies to the primary football executive and the head coach.
Will the league consider the intent of the rule and the spirit of why it was introduced in the first place? Maybe. But how would it explain to the other teams that the Falcons’ unique front-office arrangement created a situation in which two positions qualified for draft picks?
We ought to know before long. The last three years, the league has announced the complete draft order and distribution of compensatory picks between March 8 and March 11.
10. Ben Johnson was in the car for seven hours Tuesday for a round trip to Indianapolis.
After a media whirlwind of group interviews and then select multimedia appearances beginning in the morning, he was back on the road by early afternoon. In fact, word is Johnson was back at Halas Hall that evening in time to join some of the team’s one-on-one interviews virtually.
That’s the way he wanted to attack things, and the team is fortunate Johnson agreed to do the media tour. He’s the best frontman the Bears have had in a long while.
Maybe this is something he and Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur can bond over in the future. LaFleur is one of a small group of coaches who typically don’t attend the combine. On second thought, maybe they won’t bond over that. But Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Liam Coen also haven’t been in Indianapolis.
Johnson believes he can be as or more effective from his office, and the Bears have had assistant coaches involved at the combine.
10a. It’s a foregone conclusion the Bears will exercise the fifth-year option in right tackle Darnell Wright’s contract. The 2023 first-round pick is set to earn a little more than $3.6 million this season. The fifth-year option for 2027 projects to be roughly $20.5 million.
The Bears probably could save a little money in the long run if they get a multiyear deal with Wright done this year. Pay for right tackles has taken off. Six are making $22 million or more annually, and a deal for Wright might have to approach $25 million per year, give or take a little.
10b. When it comes to free agency, at times there can be a loser tax. Trying to sign a good player to come to your bad team? You better add a little to the bottom line.
With the Bears finishing 11-6 and with a buzz about the coaching staff and quarterback, maybe they won’t have to pay that tax for a little bit. Don’t mistake this to mean players will flock to the Bears for less money. That’s not how it works. But they won’t have to sweeten offers to make up for a bad record the year before and questions about the coaching staff’s future.
10c. The Falcons announced Dec. 10 the NFL granted them an international home game in 2026. By process of elimination, it looks like that game will be in Madrid. The league already has announced the home team for eight other international games:
- Jaguars: Tottenham and Wembley stadiums, London
- Commanders: Tottenham Stadium
- Cowboys: Rio de Janeiro
- 49ers: Mexico City
- Rams: Melbourne, Australia
- Saints: Paris
- Lions: Munich
If the Falcons indeed land the Madrid game — and nothing is official until it’s official — the Bears might be the visitor for that game.
The Falcons’ nine home opponents this season are the Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers, Bears, Lions, 49ers, Ravens, Bengals and Chiefs. The league generally avoids scheduling divisional games overseas, although the Rams and 49ers will play in Australia. It won’t be the 49ers, who already have two international games, and it’s unlikely the Lions would have two.
In that case, the NFL could be choosing from among the Bears, Ravens, Bengals and Chiefs. The schedule usually is released in mid-May.