Chicago Bears: 3 personnel decisions Ryan Poles must make quickly

Ryan Poles must either extend James Daniels or find a suitable replacement

There is one thing that is for certain, Ryan Poles is going to need to work his magic on the Chicago Bears offensive line the same way he helped sort things out in Kansas City. Can he find a Creed Humphrey type in the 2022 NFL Draft? Sam Mustipher is clearly not the answer at center — at least not as the starter.

We really do not know what the team has in Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom at this point. Obviously, they both have shown some great potential, but are they long-term answers? Could Ryan Poles bring Orlando Brown with him from Kansas City? Brown is going to cost close to, if not more than $20 million per season, but can he find someone similar? By that I mean, can he find a lineman to start and play well for under $5 million per year?

One name that Ryan Poles will need to consider keeping around is James Daniels. Daniels was looking to be an elite offensive guard in 2020 before he went down with a season-ending pectoral injury. He didn’t look as good when he returned in 2021, but he was very solid. The question will be, is he going to be worth his market value or can Ryan Poles look to replace him with someone else who may be more affordable but still above average?

That might be hard, but Daniels is likely to make somewhere in the range of $8 to $10 million per year. I’d expect something along the lines of a five-year, $50 million dollar contract. Ryan Poles is probably going to have to pay Daniels seeing he’s been above average and is only 24 years old.